Abstract
Postnatal period is the most neglected period though it is a critical phase in the lives of mothers and newborn babies. About 50 to 71 percent of maternal deaths occur during this period, particularly in the first few hours. Therefore, this study aimed to assess couples’ opinion & women’s utilization of postnatal care service in Wolaita zone, Southern Ethiopia, January 2016. A community based cross sectional study was employed using both quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection. Study subjects were women aged between 15-49 years old who delivered within the past one year before data collection time in the selected districts of Wolaita zone. Multistage sampling technique was used to select study subjects for quantitative study and purposive sampling was used to select participants for qualitative study. A total of 790 sample size for quantitative data was allocated proportionally to the population size of randomly selected kebele and 24 in-depth interviews with key informants was conducted to supplement quantitative study. Bivariate and multivariate analysis was performed to assess independent predictors of postnatal care service utilization. In-depth interview was audio recorded, transcribed, translated and triangulated with quantitative findings. The prevalence of postnatal care service utilization in this study was 34.9%. This study showed that younger mothers, [AOR = 1.82, (95% CI = 1.23, 2.69)]; those mothers who followed antenatal care service in their last pregnancy, [AOR = 10.39, (95% CI = 4.99, 21.60)]; who delivered their last child in health facilities, [AOR = 2.66, (95% CI = 1.75, 4.03)]; who have good knowledge on postnatal care service utilization, [AOR = 7.25, (95% CI = 4.30, 12.21)]; and whose couples’ have good attitude towards postnatal care service utilization, [AOR = 1.76, (95% CI = 1.16, 2.69)] were more likely utilized postnatal care service than their counter parts. Postnatal care service utilization was low in the study area. Maternal age, maternal health service utilization (antenatal care service and institutional delivery), maternal knowledge and couples’ attitude were major predictors for postnatal care service utilization in the study area. Concerned body should focus on the above issue to improve maternal and child health.
Highlights
The World Health Organization (WHO) stated that postnatal period begins immediately after birth of the baby and extends up to six weeks (42 days) after birth [1]
An analysis of Demographic and Health Survey data from 23 Sub-Saharan African countries found that only 13% of women who delivered at home received postnatal care service within 2 days of birth [14]
Even though postnatal care service utilization plays a critical role in reducing maternal and newborn child mortality, little is known about its determinants in the study area
Summary
The World Health Organization (WHO) stated that postnatal period begins immediately after birth of the baby and extends up to six weeks (42 days) after birth [1]. Appropriate postnatal care (PNC) in the first hour and days following childbirth prevents the great majority of maternal and child morbidity and mortality [1, 5] It is important for mothers to treat complications related to childbirth such as hemorrhage and infection, and an opportunity for mothers and newborns to establish. An analysis of Demographic and Health Survey data from 23 Sub-Saharan African countries found that only 13% of women who delivered at home received postnatal care service within 2 days of birth [14]. It showed that majority of mothers did not utilize postnatal care service due to different factors. This study, aimed to identify couples’ opinion and factors affecting PNC service utilization among child bearing age women who gave birth in the past one year preceding this survey in Wolaita zone, Southern Ethiopia
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