Evaluation of the content of prenatal care services received from family health center during pregnancy and their opinions about the service

This study was done to understand what pregnant women expect from and how satisfied they are with antenatal care (ANC) services they receive at Family Health Centers (FHCs). It is a descriptive type of research. The study group included mothers with babies aged 0–3 months who were registered at 24 different FHCs under the Sultanbeyli District Health Directorate in Istanbul. A total of 288 mothers were chosen based on the population served by each center. Data was collected using several forms: a "Personal Information Form", "Obstetric History and FHC Use Form", "Antenatal Care Details Form", and a "Satisfaction and Expectations Scale for ANC". Most women (62.1%) were between 25–34 years old, 96.5% were legally married, 47.5% were university graduates, 60.8% were employed, and 69.8% described their income as average. Among them, 43.4% were giving birth for the first time (primiparous), 67.6% had visited ANC services at least 4 times, and 80.9% had their first check between weeks 1–14. The most common services received were: blood pressure check (70.8%), weight tracking (73.2%), listening to baby's heartbeat (70.8%), and receiving iron (72.9%) and vitamin D (71.6%) supplements. However, services like checking for swelling (42.7%), varicose veins (34.4%), personalized counseling (40.9%), and pregnancy education (41.7%) were less frequently provided. Some women also felt basic care practices like taking health history (47.6%), physical exams (41%), and Leopold maneuvers (45.1%) were not done well enough. Most women (91.7%) got a tetanus vaccine, 50% got a Hepatitis B vaccine, and only 30.9% got a flu shot during pregnancy. The average satisfaction score from the ANC Satisfaction and Expectations Scale was 60.56 ± 25.82, and the average expectation score was 24.25 ± 7.97. Women were most satisfied with the care provided by health workers and the system in general. Their highest expectations were having the same health worker during visits and receiving personalized care. Satisfaction scores were significantly higher (p<0.05) among women who were housewives, whose husbands had a university degree, who had planned pregnancies, who had no miscarriage or risky pregnancy history, and who said ANC services from FHCs fully met their expectations. Likewise, expectation scores were significantly higher (p<0.05) among women whose husbands were aged 40–45, who had planned pregnancies, visited FHCs at least 4 times, had no miscarriage history, and said their expectations were met even partly.