This paper examined the association between individual
and local level factors and the number
of antenatal care visits completed by women in
Colombia using data from the 2010 Colombian
Demographic and Health Survey and multilevel
logistic regression models. Our findings suggest
that, in addition to maternal socioeconomic status,
contextual factors influence whether pregnant
women complete the minimum recommended
number of antenatal care visits. These
factors include: level of women’s autonomy in
the community, regional inequalities and access
barriers caused by distance (OR = 0.057), costs of
services (OR = 0.035), and/or a lack of confidence
in doctors (OR = 0.036). Our results highlight the
existence of inequalities in access to antenatal
care and the importance of considering the local
context in the design of effective maternal care
policies in Colombia. Furthermore, our findings
regarding individual factors corroborate
the evidence from other countries and offer new
insights into the association between local level
factors and number of antenatal care visits.