Initiating ANC in a timely fashion is important, as it can increase the likelihood of adherence to clinically recommended check-up schedule, while providing health care providers with adequate time to identify and e ectively treat conditions such as syphilis, anemia, malaria, and hypertension (Rooney and World Health Organization, 1992; Carroli et al., 2001). In most parts of Sub-Sahara Africa (SSA), for instance,