Magnitude and factors influencing pastoralist women's maternity waiting home utilization in Teltelle district, Ethiopia: A cross‐sectional study

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Pastoralists in Ethiopia benefit the least from health‐sector advances compared to the country's agrarian population. Maternity waiting homes (MWHs) have been established to provide mothers living in remote regions with access to skilled healthcare services during pregnancy, delivery, and postpartum periods. However, there is a dearth of data on the utilization of MWHs in pastoralist areas. OBJECTIVES: To assess maternity waiting home utilization and its associated factors among pastoralist women who gave birth in the last 12 months in Teltelle district, Southeastern Ethiopia; 2021. METHODS: A community‐based cross‐sectional study was undertaken from March 1 to June 20, 2021. A multistage sampling technique was used to select the 458 study subjects. A pretested structured questionnaire was used to gather the data. For data entry and analysis, Epi‐data version 4.4.3.1 and SPSS version 25.0 were utilized respectively. Models of bivariate and multivariate logistic regression were utilized to identify associated factors. In the multivariable analysis, variables with p < 0.05 were declared significantly associated with maternity waiting home utilization. RESULT: A total of 458 pastoralist women participated in the study. From the total participants, 26.64% [95% confidence interval: 22.57%−30.70%] of women utilized MWHs. Women's husband education status, complications during their last pregnancy, family support to MWHs, and community involvement and support were found to be significantly associated with the utilization of MWHs. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION: This study found that utilization of MWHs was significantly lower in pastoralist areas of Ethiopia than in agrarian areas. Previous pregnancy complications, family support, husband's literacy, and community support were all significantly associated with improved maternity waiting home utilization. Encouraging community participation and family support are recommended to improve its utilization. Moreover, increasing community involvement in MWHs establishment and sustainability will be expected from the stakeholders.