ASSESSMENT OF THE EFFECT OF COVID-19 ON ANTENATAL CARE SERVICES UTILIZATION AND PROVISION IN CROSS RIVER STATE, NIGERIA

The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted health services worldwide, with associated maternal health care, which includes antenatal care (ANC) services in sub-Saharan Africa. In Nigeria, the maternal mortality ratio has been estimated at 512/100,000 in Nigerian. This study assesses the impact of COVID-19 on the utilization and provision of ANC service in Cross River State, Nigeria. A cross-sectional design was used to collect data from health facilities, pregnant women and healthcare providers via questionnaires, surveys and interviews from one Local Government Area in each Senatorial District in the state. The major areas of interest include service availability, public perception safety during the pandemic, accessibility to the health facilities, patient attendance and healthcare workers preparedness, as well as Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs). The results obtained in 2019 show that the total number of ANC visits was 26733 as compared to what was obtained in the survey results of 4777 in 2020. This simply indicates a 7.4% reduction in antenatal care attendance. Also institutional birth delivery in 2019 (4679) and 2022 (6015) shows an increase in the number of institutional births of about 1344. This study revealed discrepancies in healthcare service delivery and utilization across the districts as the proportion of births at health facilities were 51.4%, 30.7% and 17.9% in the south, central and north respectively. Conclusively, there was an increasing trend in home deliveries and TBAs due to the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on antenatal services and utilization of healthcare facilities.