Impact of the Mandatory Community Midwifery Service on the Utilization of Maternal Health Care by Women in Ondo State, Nigeria

Abstract

The study explored the perceived impact of the mandatory community midwifery service on utilization of maternal health care by women, using the General System Theory and the Logic Model. The research was conducted in three selected Local Government Areas (LGAs). The research design for this study was the time-series type of non-controlled experimental design. The researcher assessed records of maternal health care attendance from the selected health facilities from July 2002 to July 2011 to generate data for the study. The study population comprised of 306 women of reproductive age group (15-49) in the three selected communities (who have participated in the programme) where the three primary health care centres are located. Multistage sampling technique was adopted to select three Local Government Areas (LGAs) from where data was collected. In-depth interview guide, questionnaire and format for recording data from records were used in the study. The result obtained from the study indicated that there was no significant difference in the levels of utilization of maternal care services before and after the inception of the mandatory community service except for the slight increase in antenatal care utilization. Majority of the women expressed satisfaction with the services they received from the midwives. The study also revealed a slight increase in the levels of utilization of antenatal attendance while not much change had occurred in the use of facility based delivery care as well as postnatal care.