Abstract
Maternal health care service utilization is one of the components of the reproductive and child health interventions package with the aim of improving both maternal and child health. It is the health of the women during pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum period. Thus, the overall objective of this study is to investigate the perceived socio economic barriers to maternal health seeking behavior of rural women in Raya Alamata District. In doing so, the researcher employed qualitative methods substantiated by the quantitative data. In doing so, a sample of 359 HH units was selected from three ‘Tabias’ by using simple random sampling techniques. The qualitative data analyzed using thematic analysis whereas the quantitative data analyzed using descriptive statistics. According to the findings of the study, perceived social barriers such as shortage of qualified health workers, ill behavior of health workers, student’s internship and poor quality of maternal health services influence the health seeking behavior of the rural women of the study area. On the other hand, the perceived economic barriers such as access to resources, working conditions and cost of transportation and medical treatment also influence maternal health seeking behavior of the women of the study area. Key words: Antenatal care, delivery care, maternal health, maternal health seeking behavior, postnatal care.  
Highlights
Maternal health care is the health of the women during pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum period which are crucial for the wellbeing of a mother and new born baby (WHO, 2008)
It is one of the components of the national package of essential reproductive and child health interventions package focusing on improving quality of life of women and adolescent mothers (Tanzania Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, 2011)
The major findings of the study, based on the data obtained through household survey; in-depth and key informant interview and focus group discussions (FGDs) are presented and discussed, in a descriptive rhetoric
Summary
Maternal health care is the health of the women during pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum period which are crucial for the wellbeing of a mother and new born baby (WHO, 2008). It is one of the components of the national package of essential reproductive and child health interventions package focusing on improving quality of life of women and adolescent mothers (Tanzania Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, 2011). Health seeking behavior is any activity undertaken by individuals and they perceive themselves to have a health problem or to be ill for the purpose of finding an appropriate remedy (Ward et al, 1997). Maternal health-seeking behavior is the process and intention of consulting a physician during the prenatal, delivery and postnatal period, especially when disease symptoms are apparent (Caldwell, 1983)
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