Satisfaction with antenatal care and associated factors among pregnant women in healthcare centers of the Baghdad Al-Karkh health directorate, Iraq, 2025

Abstract

Back ground: Pregnant women satisfaction with antenatal care assesses the extent to which services fulfil the needs, preferences, and expectations of pregnant women, including provider communication, clinical competence, accessibility, wait times, privacy, cleanliness, and staff demeanor. High levels of satisfaction indicate quality and effective service delivery during antenatal visits. Conversely, inadequate access to quality care and low satisfaction can lead to delayed or incomplete care, which in turn contributes to preventable maternal mortality. The Aim: Of this study is an Assessment of Satisfaction with Antenatal Care and Associated Factors among Pregnant Women Attending Healthcare Centers in the Baghdad Al-Karkh Health Directorate, Iraq, 2025 Result: A total of 500 randomly selected pregnant women were enrolled in antenatal care services at 10 randomly selected healthcare centers within the Baghdad Al Karkh health directorate. The majority of participants were aged 18 to 35 years (82 %), 37 % held a diploma, 68 % resided in rural areas, and 56 % were unemployed. Most participants, 57 % visited healthcare centers two to three times during pregnancy, 37 % had a parity of two, and 64% had a gravida of two to three. The overall satisfaction of pregnant women was 73%. Neutral was 9% and dissatisfaction was 18%. There is a significant association between the ANC visit and residency, employment, and educational level, with a p-value 0. 001 On the other hand, there is no significant association between the ANC visit involvement of family members during examination and privacy or communication, p-value 0.128, 0.249, respectively. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 500 pregnant women who attended antenatal care in Baghdad al Karkh from March to August 2025. Participants were selected randomly. Data were collected through interviewer-administered questionnaires and analysed using SPSS version 26 and the Chi-square test. Statistical significance was set at p