Abstract
This paper discusses the differentials of maternity care in Nigeria. The objective is to provide information that could form basis for the design, implementation and monitoring of strategies for improved maternity care and hence, of maternal health, in line with the fifth Millennium Development Goal. To achieve this objective, secondary data derived from the 1990, 1999 and 2003 Nigeria Demographic and Health Surveys (NDHS) were analysed using simple descriptive statistics and cross-tabulations. The results of the analyses show that, though the status of maternity care, as measured by Care with a Health Professional (CHP), Delivery with a Health Professional (DHP) and Delivery Within a Health Facility (DHF), in Nigeria is generally low, it is worse in the rural than urban areas. It appears lowest among women under 20 years and lowest in the Northwest region of Nigeria. The level of maternity care also appears to have increased as mother’s education and wealth quintile increased and decreased as birth order increased. Therefore, improved mother’s education and economic status have been recommended among others, as a means of improving the status of maternity care in Nigeria.
Highlights
The high incidence of maternal death has been a source of great concern to governments, health and development planners of most countries of the world
The differentials of maternity care in Nigeria is discussed in this paper because of its implications for maternal and child health in any country
Available information from the 2003 Nigeria Demographic and Health Surveys (NDHS) shows that the status maternity care in Nigeria is still very low
Summary
The high incidence of maternal death has been a source of great concern to governments, health and development planners of most countries of the world. Maternal mortality ratio (MMR) was estimated to be 450 deaths per 100000 live births in all developing regions and about 920 per 100000 live births in sub-Saharan Africa, the highest in the world, [UN (2000)]. This Section examines the background characteristics of the women who had a live birth in the five years preceding the 2003 NDHS, hereinafter referred to as ”the surveyed women” or as “the women”. The relevance of this lies in the fact that the distribution would assist in the assessment of the quality and interpretation of results obtained in the subsequent Sections. (c)Mother’s Education None Primary Secondary Higher (d) Wealth Quintile Lowest Second Middle Fourth Highest (e) Place of Residence Urban Rural (f) Region of Residence North Central North East North West South East South West South South All
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