• Meenu Maharajan, Kamana Sen, Bibechan Thapa, Sushmita Shrestha, Aradhana Jayaswal, Alina Poudel, Prasnna Basnet, Sunita Rajya Laxmi Rana, Sneha Chaudhary, Pratistha Shrestha, and Kritick Bhandari.
• Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, KIST Medical College and Teaching Hospital, Imadol, Lalitpur, Nepal.
• JNMA J Nepal Med Assoc. 2022 Sep 1; 60 (253): 796799796-799.

IntroductionThe coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has made access to antenatal care services difficult, which could lead to serious implications for the health of mothers and fetus. There is limited study regarding its impact on pregnant women. This study aimed to find out the prevalence of irregular antenatal care attendance among pregnant women during the COVID-19 pandemic in a tertiary care centre.MethodsA descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out among pregnant women attending antenatal care visits at the Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics in a tertiary care centre from 23 July 2021 to 5 September 2021. Ethical approval was granted by the Institutional Review Committee (Reference number: 077/078/67). Convenience sampling was done. Point estimate and 95% Confidence Interval were calculated.ResultsAmong 196 pregnant women, 49 (25%) (18.96-31.06, 95% Confidence Interval) had irregular antenatal care attendance during the COVID-19 pandemic.ConclusionsThe prevalence of irregular antenatal care attendance during the COVID-19 pandemic was lower than other studies done in similar settings. Antenatal care is crucial to prevent maternal, fetal morbidity and mortality, hence uninterrupted antenatal care services should be provided even during crisis situation like COVID-19 pandemics.

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