Determinants of Choice of Place of Delivery among Women Attending Two Referral Hospitals in Kano North-West Nigeria

BACKGROUND: Women are often unable to choose for themselves when, where, and from whom to seek care. This study was undertaken to determine factors that influence a woman's choice of place of delivery among women attending immunization clinics in two referral hospitals in Kano, Nigeria. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A hospital-based cross-sectional descriptive study conducted among 314 women who delivered in Kano, Nigeria. Stratified random sampling was done. Pretested, interviewer-administered questionnaires were used to obtain responses about sociodemographic characteristics, choice of place of delivery, and factors that influenced their choice of place of delivery. Ethical approval was obtained from an ethical committee. Women who gave birth within the past 12 months and gave informed consent were recruited. The data were analyzed using SPSS statistical software version 22. RESULTS: About 218 (69.4%) women had their previous delivery in the health facility, whereas 96 (30.6%) had theirs outside the health facilities. The level of satisfaction in health facility care was also high. For those who had their deliveries outside the health facility, 37 (38.5%) of the deliveries were monitored by a nurse/midwife. The respondents level of education (P ≤ 0.001), spouse level of education (P < 0.001), spouse occupation (P ≤ 0.015), human influence (P = 0.025), and total cost of each visit (P = 0.010) were associated with the choice of place of delivery; however, at multivariate logistic regression, only human influence and respondents level of education were determinants of the choice of place of delivery. CONCLUSION: Most of the respondents had their previous deliveries in the health facilities and had a high level of satisfaction with the health facilities where they delivered compared to other studies. Utilization of the health facilities for childbirth may increase if there is involvement of relations, especially husbands and mothers and if the clients' level of education is improved.