FREQUENCY OF ANTENATAL CARE VISITS AND THEIR IMPACT ON LOW BIRTH WEIGHT IN INDONESIA

Low birth weight (LBW) continues to be a global public health problem. The frequency of antenatal care (ANC) visits is an important factor in LBW. This study was to assess and obtain the best evidence-based recommendation on the frequency of ANC visits for LBW in Indonesia by comparing the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Ministry of Health (MoH). Data from the 2017 Indonesia Demographic and Health Survey (IDHS) were used. Information of 14, 090 women aged 15–49 who gave birth to the last child during the last five years before the survey was examined. The frequency of ANC visits was described based on three recommendations: WHO 2002 (four times), the MoH (six times), and WHO 2016 (eight times). The assessment was based on sensitivity and specificity, logistic regression, and Population Attributable Rate (PAR). The eight-time ANC visits have the best sensitivity (0.610) and specificity (0.512) for predicting LBW. This frequency also showed the highest association compared to the other frequencies. Women who had less than eight ANC visits to a born baby with LBW were 2.72 times (95%CI 1.78–4.15) higher than those who had eight or more during pregnancy. The PAR shows a decrease in LBW by 1.3% in the population due to the frequency. The recommendation of the WHO 2016 became the best evidence-based recommendation of ANC visits belonging at least eight times on LBW. More promotion is needed to increase the minimum frequency of visits than what has been currently implemented in Indonesia.