• B.Anusha
• Dr. A Vinayagaram

Ante-natal care (ANC) services indirectly save the lives of mothers and babies by promoting and establishing good health before child birth and the early post-natal period. Various ante natal services are provided for the pregnant women. The pregnant women in the coastal villages of Agasteeswaram block were not aware of taking the prescribed treatment, especially the ante natal checkups, and medicine properly. As a result, these women suffered from the medical causes such as haemorrhage mainly postpartum, sepsis because of infection during pregnancy, labour and postpartum period, unsafe abortion, hypertensive disorders, obstructed labour, anaemia and malaria, social causes like marriage and child birth at a very young age, less spacing between births and low level of educational attainment among women especially in the coastal villages and weaker sections of the society and health related causes such as low status, emotional and physical abuse and malnutrition and high unmet need of contraceptives and less awareness in the coastal villages of Agasteeswaram block in Kanniyakumari district. Pregnant women should register early within first trimester. By early registration we can identify the high risk cases and to prevent them. In the coastal villages, majority (51.25 per cent) of the respondents received ante natal checkups between 9 and 12 times. Out of the 80 respondents, 68.75 per cent had undergone ante natal checkups in government PHCs because of their economic backwardness and the intension of getting the government assistance of Rs. 4000. Majority of the respondents had taken the prescribed checkups in the fourth, seventh and ninth month. The fourth month is a crucial month in which the ante natal expenditure is found higher. In the ante natal checkups regarding blood pressure, urine and ultra sound scan, all the respondents have not responded to undergo the checkups. This may create severe problems to those who have not undergone the ante natal checkups. Majority of the respondents took checkups in the government PHCs due to their economic backwardness and long distance of the Private Hospitals from their residences. On par with the Private Hospitals, the nearby PHCs should be well equipped with modern instruments with advanced technology to reduce the medical expenses regarding the ante natal checkups.

Ante natal checkups, Demographic features, Awareness

"A STUDY ON THE AWARENESS OF ANTE NATAL CHECKUPS IN THE COASTAL VILLAGES OF AGASTEESWARAM BLOCK, KANNIYAKUMARI DISTRICT", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.6, Issue 6, page no.854-858, June 2019, Available :http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR1906N31.pdf

"A STUDY ON THE AWARENESS OF ANTE NATAL CHECKUPS IN THE COASTAL VILLAGES OF AGASTEESWARAM BLOCK, KANNIYAKUMARI DISTRICT", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org | UGC and issn Approved), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.6, Issue 6, page no. pp854-858, June 2019, Available at : http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR1906N31.pdf