Household characteristics affecting where mothers deliver in rural Kenya

Abstract

Data from a household survey were used to analyse the distribution of newborn deliveries in a rural area of Kenya. It was found that 52% of deliveries occurred at home or with traditional birth attendants. Using regression techniques, the most significant predictors of choosing an informal delivery setting are the household's distance from the nearest maternity bed and whether a household member has insurance. The results suggest that travel time is an important barrier to access. Therefore, quality improvements at existing facilities may not result in greater use of modern sector delivery, particularly if improvements are partially offset by user fees.

Delivery Practices and Associated Factors among Mothers Seeking Child Welfare Services in Selected Health Facilities in Nyandarua South District, Kenya

“…The perception of mothers on birth attendants could be greatly influenced by the interpersonal relations with the attendants during labor and delivery. These findings are consistent with those of an earlier study in rural Kenya on household characteristics that influence mothers' choice of a delivery place [31]. In this study, there was a significant reduction in hospital delivery attendance during the last delivery (57.2%) compared to the first (73%).…”

“…Findings showed that 53.3% (97) of the mothers, who expressed dissatisfaction with service delivery in the various maternity facilities they had attended for delivery, had unsafe delivery practices at home. The findings of this study are consistent with other studies carried out in Bangladesh, Malawi and Kenya where poor quality of maternity care services was identified as one of the factors contributing to low utilization of maternity services by mothers [8,31,34,38]. …”

Maternal mortality, birth with a health professional and distance to obstetric care in Indonesia and Bangladesh

“…The relationship between distance to a health facility and birth with a health professional is strong and consistent with several other studies (Hodgkin ; Magadi et al . ; Tanser ).…”

Choice of place for childbirth: prevalence and correlates of utilization of health facilities in Chongwe district, Zambia

“…Compared to other rural areas in the region, our rate is higher than what has been reported in rural Kenya of 5.4% 13 . However, our finding is comparable with that reported in another study in rural Kenya of 47.5% 14 , and 37% reported in rural areas of the Orange Free State in South Africa 15 .…”