Antenatal care (ANC) is important care or attention given to a pregnant mother to ensure safety of the mother and child from time of conception to delivery. Antenatal care is the medical attention, monitoring, education, and support given to a pregnant woman from conception until the onset of labor. However, certain factors may hinder the smooth take up of the ANC. Therefore, barriers to antenatal booking are factors that delay or prevent pregnant women from registering for antenatal care (ANC), especially within the first trimester in rural areas. These barriers are usually interconnected. This study aimed to Assesse the Barriers to Early Antenatal Booking Among Women of Reproductive Age in Rural Areas of South-South, Nigeria. This was a cross-sectional study involving 250 pregnant women. Participants’ age is between 18 to 47 years. A well-structured questionnaire was administered to participants. The study lasted for a period of 3 months. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS version 25.0 and p < 0.05 was significant. The results revealed that 76% of the pregnant women are not aware that antenatal care should start in the first trimester of pregnancy, 72% are not aware that early antenatal booking helps detect pregnancy complication, 76% are prevented from early ANC booking due to cost, 68% is due to lack of money, 80% had low level of education, 80% prefer traditional birth attendants, poor roads, long waiting time, cultural belief, and permission from husband. The study revealed that educational and awareness barriers, sociocultural barriers, geographical and transportation barriers, socioeconomic barriers, health system–related barriers, psychosocial factors, pregnancy-related factors are major barriers to early ANC booking in rural areas.