What Influences Where They Give Birth? Determinants of Place of Delivery among Women in Rural Ghana

Abstract

Background. There is a paucity of empirical literature in Ghana on rural areas and their utilisation of health facilities. The study examined the effects of the sociodemographics of rural women on place of delivery in the country. Methods. The paper made use of data from the 2014 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey. Women from rural areas who had given birth within five years prior to the survey were included in the analysis. Descriptive analyses and binary logistic regression were used to analyse the data. Results. Wealth, maternal education, ecological zone, getting money for treatment, ethnicity, partner's education, parity, and distance to a health facility were found as the determinants of place of delivery among women in rural Ghana. Women in the richest wealth quintile were three times (OR = 3.04, 95% CI = 0.35–26.4) more likely to deliver at a health facility than the poorest women. Conclusions. It behoves the relevant stakeholders including the Ghana Health Service and the Ministry of Health to pay attention to the wealth status, maternal education, ecological zone, ethnicity, partner's education, parity, and distance in their planning regarding delivery care in rural Ghana.

Why some women fail to give birth at health facilities: A comparative study between Ethiopia and Nigeria

“…Facility not being open, transportation issues, absence of female provider and that health facility delivery was not necessary/not customary were more likely to be reported in the rural areas relative their urban counterparts. These findings are consistent with previous research studies [ 41 , 42 , 43 ].…”

Spatio-temporal distribution and associated factors of home delivery in Ethiopia. Further multilevel and spatial analysis of Ethiopian Demographic and Health Surveys 2005 - 2016

“…Similarly, educated husbands influence the choice of place of delivery, which might be educated husbands would take the decision on place of birth for their wives. This finding supported by other studies conducted in Southeast Ethiopia and Ghana (20,26).…”

“…This study revealed that 73.44% (95% CI; 72.60, 74.26) of women deliver at home preceding the survey period. This finding was consistence with the study done Southeast Ethiopia (73.6%) (20), whereas it is higher than the study done at Afar, Ethiopia (65%), South Ethiopia (62.2%), Arba Minch town Ethiopia (33.2%), Akordet town, Eritrea (18%), urban community at Nigeria (35%), and Ghana (51.2%) (21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26). The discrepancy might be the study area, setting deference, cultural attitude for health facility delivery, and infrastructure difference (access to the health facility, roads…).…”

Facility delivery and postnatal care services use among mothers who attended four or more antenatal care visits in Ethiopia: further analysis of the 2016 Demographic and Health Survey

“…In this analysis, mothers who were urban residents had higher odds of giving birth at a health facility compared with their rural counterparts. This finding is similar to the findings of studies conducted in Ethiopia and Ghana [69,72]. Urban women are more exposed to media messages related to the benefits of facility delivery.…”