Maternal Healthcare Services Utilization and Associated Factors among Childbearing Age of Women in Liben District, East Borena Zone, Oromia Regional Health Bureau, Ethiopia

Abstract

Background: Utilization of maternal healthcare services is a fundamental health intervention for preventing maternal morbidity and mortality. Despite its importance, the utilization of maternal healthcare services in Ethiopia is low, especially in rural pastoralist communities. Thus, this study aimed to assess maternal healthcare services utilizations and its associated factors in the Liben district of Guji zone, Oromia region, Southern Ethiopia. Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted with 416 randomly identified mothers in Liben in September, 2020. The respondents were mothers who had given birth 12 months prior to the survey. The data were collected using interviewer administered questionnaires. The data were entered into Epi-data version 4.1 and analyzed using SPSS version 20. Descriptive, bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were also performed. Result: Sixty percent of mothers had received antenatal care at least once. In this study, only 21.2% and 17.5% of women had delivered their babies at health institutions and utilized early postnatal care services respectively. Maternal education [AOR=2.43(95%CI: 1.22–4.89)], decision making power [AOR=2.40(95% CI: 1.3–23.3)], perceived compassionate & respectful care [AOR=0.30(95%CI: 0.18–0.50)], and planned current pregnancy [AOR=0.22(95% CI: 0.12–0.37)] were significantly associated with utilization of antenatal care. Mother’s age [AOR=3.73(95% CI: 1.53–6.04)], time to travel to health facilities [AOR=1.74(95% CI:1.02– 3.08)], knowledge of danger signs [AOR=3.77(95% CI:2.16–6.57)] and perceived compassionate and respectful care were significantly associated with institutional delivery, whereas recent antenatal care utilization[AOR=5.34(95%CI:1.96–8.65)], planned current pregnancy and knowledge of danger signs [AOR=2.93(95%CI:1.59–5.41)] were found to be significantly associated with postnatal care utilization. Conclusion: Overall, the prevalence of maternal healthcare services utilization was far below the national and regional targets in the study area. Therefore, considering the identified associated factors and providing information and training on these issues to the community could improve and sustain maternal healthcare services utilization.