Mass media exposure and adequate antenatal care in Nigeria: a nationally representative analysis of channel-specific effects using the 2024 Demographic and Health Survey

Background Antenatal care (ANC) utilisation in Nigeria remains substantially below the eight-contact recommendation of the World Health Organization. Although mass media is widely recognised as a tool for health promotion, the independent contributions of television, radio and print media, and the dose-response relationship between cumulative exposure and adequate ANC, have not been rigorously examined using recent nationally representative data. This study assessed whether television viewing, radio listening and newspaper or magazine reading independently predict completion of at least eight ANC visits among Nigerian women. Method Cross-sectional secondary analysis of the 2024 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey among 10,061 women with complete ANC data. Survey weights were applied. Unadjusted, partially adjusted and fully adjusted binary logistic regression models estimated odds ratios and adjusted odds ratios ( AOR s) with 95% confidence intervals ( CI s). Results The weighted prevalence of adequate ANC was 24.4% (95% CI : 23.5% to 25.3%). In the fully adjusted model, regular television viewing was the significant media predictor, women watching at least weekly having 41% higher odds of adequate ANC ( AOR = 1.41; 95% CI : 1.19 to 1.67; P < 0.001). A dose-response gradient rose from 9.4% among women with no media exposure to 56.8% among those with the highest exposure. Radio and newspaper exposure were not independently significant after adjustment. Conclusion Television-based health messaging offers a scalable and equity-relevant strategy for improving maternal health, particularly among women with limited literacy.