Factors Influencing the Utilisation of Maternal Health Care Services Among Women of Reproductive Age in Lagos Island LGA, Lagos State

Abstract

Nigeria has one of the highest rates of maternal deaths during pregnancy, childbirth and after childbirth among the developing countries. Therefore, it is important to identify the factors influencing the utilization of maternal health care services among women of reproductive age. This study was conducted to assess the level of utilization of maternal health care services and it examined factors influencing the utilization of the maternal health care services among women of reproductive age. This study was a cross-sectional descriptive design. Proportionate stratified sampling technique was used to select the markets, while convenience sampling technique was used to select 297 participants. The instrument used for data collection was a self-structured questionnaire that was divided into three sections (sections A-C). The validity and reliability of the instrument was established before used. The descriptive statistics was employed to answer the research questions, while Pearson correlation and chi-square analysis were employed to test the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significant. Findings showed that the level of utilization of maternal health care services was low. There was a significant relationship between factors influencing the utilization of maternal services and the level of utilization of the services among the women of reproductive age (r = .516, p = <0.05). Conversely, the socio-demographic factors were not significantly related to the level of utilization of maternal health services among participants. It was recommended among others that there should be education in form of orientation for women on the need for them to utilize MHCS during pregnancy and delivery and after childbirth.