Gestational age at booking for Antenatal Care and the pregnancy outcome at Faith Alive Hospital, Jos, Nigeria

Background: Early initiation of antenatal care is believed to improve maternal and foetal outcome. We sought to ascertain gestational age at booking and the outcome of these pregnancies at a faith based hospital in northern Nigeria. Methods: A retrospective descriptive study of patients who booked for antenatal care at the Faith Alive Hospital, Jos, st st Nigeria between 1 January, 2010 to 31 December, 2017 was done. Information regarding demographics, gestational age at booking and outcome of these pregnancies were analyzed. Result: During the study period, 3739 women registered for antenatal care. Majority of women were 20-24years (n= 1252 , 33.5 %) while The mean age was 28 ± 4years Of these women, 96.2% were married , 75.2% were Christians, 43.8% had secondary level of education and 41.2% were traders. st Furthermore, 23.2% of the clients booked in the 1 trimester in 2010, decreased to 17.3% in 2012 but progressively increased to 35.2% , 40.2% and 53.4% in 2014, 2015 and 2017 respectively. There was a significant statistical association between parity, marital status and educational status with late booking for antenatal care. Clients who booked late for antenatal care had poorer neonatal outcomes (low birth weight, still births and birth asphyxia) compared to those who booked early. Conclusion: Late initiation of antenatal care is common in our environment and associated with poorer neonatal outcomes.  Nonetheless, a progressive improvement in early bookings was noticed with improved pregnancy outcome. Key Words: Gestational age, booking, pregnancy outcome, Faith Alive, Jos