Gynäkologie und Geburtshilfe
Offener Zugang

Abstrakt

Magnitude and Determinants of Utilization of Skilled Birth Attendance among Women of Child Bearing Age in Sidama Zone, Southeast Ethiopia

Kaleb Mayisso Rodamo, Waju Beyene Salgedo and Gebeyehu Tsega Nebeb

Background: Skilled birth attendance is correlated with lower maternal mortality rates globally. Providing skilled care during pregnancy and delivery reduces maternal deaths.

Objective: This study was aimed to estimate the prevalence of skilled birth attendance and factors affecting it. Methods: A community based cross sectional study was conducted from April 18 to 28, 2014 in Loka-Abaya district, southeast Ethiopia. Multistage sampling technique was used for selection of study participants. A pretested semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect data. Bivirate and multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to identify the determinants of skilled birth.

Results: A total of 550 women participated in the study. The mean age of the subjects was 18.61 ± 2.269 years. 41.2% of the subjects attended 1-6 grade schooling. 26.8% of the mothers gave birth at health facilities. Only 13.9% of the mothers encountered at least one complication. The study showed that age and educational status of the mothers and husbands, frequency of antenatal visit, birth order, and maternal knowledge and prior experience of delivering at a health facility were independent predictors of skilled birth attendance.

Conclusions: The study revealed that the prevalence of utilization of skilled birth attendance for the recent birth was low. Younger age, educational status of mothers and their husbands, lesser birth order, frequency of antenatal care, previous experience of delivery at health institutions and maternal knowledge had positively affected skilled birth attendance. Thus it is recommended that the responsible bodies should strive to improve the awareness and health seeking behavior of mothers.