الفهرس 
IntroductionOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
Background: Antenatal care (ANC) is important for maternal and fetal health. As early as the first trimester, ANC visits should begin and continue throughout the second and third trimester. Long distances or times to health facilities, lack of health insurance, low socioeconomic status, low levels of education, parity, limited understanding of the benefits of ANC, employment status, cultural norms and ethnicity and communication between health workers are just few of the factors that contribute to late ANC initiation. Aim: This study aimed to assess prevalence of late antenatal visits and associated factors among pregnant women. Design: A descriptive study design was used. Setting: This study was carried out at antenatal clinics of Obstetric and Gynecological Specialty Center at Mansoura University Hospitals, Mansoura, Egypt. Study sample: A convenient sample of 384 pregnant women was utilized. Tools: two tools were used; a structured interview questionnaire which consists of four parts: sociodemographic factors, obstetric history, sociocultural factors and health system factors and pregnant women perception of ANC. Results: Nearly three quarters of the pregnant women had their first antenatal visit in their present pregnancy at or after 12weeks. More than two thirds of them were far from health system, had expensive transport cost &their family size was 3-5. More than half of them had previous pregnancy complications. Nearly three quarters of them reported fear of disclosure, the majority of them reported fear of evil eye, lack of husband support and attendance of male health care provider. Less than two thirds of them reported low quality of services received during ANC. Nearly three quarters of the pregnant women had low perception of ANC. Conclusion: There was a highly statistically significant association between the studied pregnant women first antenatal visit and their sociodemographic, obstetric, sociocultural and health system factors. There was highly statistical significant association between total score of pregnant women perception of ANC & their first ante natal visit at present pregnancy. Recommendation: Increasing the awareness of pregnant women about the importance of early attendance to antenatal clinics. keywords. Ante natal care— Associated factors- late initiation— pregnant women.