Determinants of choice of skilled antenatal care service providers in Ghana: analysis of demographic and health survey

BACKGROUND: The International Safe Motherhood initiative provides a focus for programmes and research to improve maternal health in low – income countries. Antenatal care is one of the key pillars of the initiative. This study sought to examine the association between background characteristics and choice of skilled providers of antenatal care services in Ghana. METHODS: The study used data from the six rounds of the Ghana Demographic and Health Survey (GDHS). Binary logistic regression models were applied to analyse the data. RESULTS: Results show that the proportion of women who received antenatal care (ANC) services from skilled providers improved over the period. Also, women with secondary education (OR = 1.42, CI = 1.07–1.88), richest wealth status (OR = 5.10, CI = 2.28–11.85) were more likely to utilise antenatal care services from skilled providers. Whereas women from rural areas (OR = 0.55, CI = 0.41–0.74), with four births or more (OR = 0.55, CI = 0.36–0.85) and from the northern ethnic group were less likely to utilise antenatal care services from skilled providers. CONCLUSION: Choice of skilled providers of antenatal care services were predicted by some predisposing factors including education, ethnicity, and ecological zone. Also enabling factors such as wealth status, residence and the need for care factor, parity predicted choice of skilled providers of antenatal care services. Women with secondary or higher education, those within richer and richest wealth status, those from forest zone are more likely to utilise the services of skilled providers during their antenatal care visits. Whereas women from rural areas, those with four births or more and those with the northern ethnic group were more likely to utilise ANC service from unskilled providers. The Ghana Health Service and Ministry of Health should encourage women in rural areas to utilise antenatal care services from skilled providers through social and behaviour change communication campaigns.