The magnitude of out‐of‐pocket expenditure for antenatal care in low and middle‐income countries: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

Background Owing to the lack of compiled global evidence on out‐of‐pocket expenditure (OOPE) for antenatal care (ANC), this systematic review and meta‐analysis estimated the magnitude of OOPE for ANC in low and middle‐income countries (LMICs). Methods An electronic search was conducted using 10 databases and a hand search of the eligible studies' reference lists. Studies on OOPE for ANC in LMICs, published in English without time restriction, were included. The comparability of OOPE values was improved using inflation and exchange rate adjustment to the year 2019. Random‐effects meta‐analysis was performed to generate pooled estimates. Results Among the 9766 articles retrieved, 32 were selected. Only 13/137 (9.5%) countries reported evidence of OOPE during pregnancy in LMICs. The majority of the studies (n = 2779.4%) were from lower‐middle‐income settings. Ten (31.3%) studies from African region, 21 (65.6%) studies from South‐East‐Asian region, 1 (3.1%) study from region of Americas and none from the other regions were included. The average OOPE for ANC and single ANC visit ranged from United States Dollar (USD) 2.41 to USD 654.32 in LMICs, the lowest in Tanzania and the highest in India. The pooled OOPEs were USD 63.29 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 51.93–74.65) and USD 12.93 (95%CI = 4.54–21.31) for ANC and single ANC visit in LMICs, respectively. Conclusion The study revealed that the pooled estimates of OOPE for ANC throughout pregnancy and per visit were high in some countries, with a wide variability observed across countries. There was a lack of evidence on OOPE for ANC from many LMICs, and filling the evidence gap in LMICs is highlighted.