Utilisation of Skilled Birth Attendant in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Trajectories and Key Sociodemographic Factors

Reducing the maternal mortality ratio (MMR) in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) remains a huge challenge. Maternal mortality is mostly attributed to low coverage of maternal health services. This study investigated the trajectories and predictors of skilled birth attendant (SBA) service utilisation in LMIC over the past two decades. The data was sourced from standard demographic and health surveys which included four surveys on women with livebirth/s from selected countries from two regions with a pooled sample of 56,606 Indonesian and 63,924 Nigerian respondents. Generalised linear models with quasibinomial family of distributions were fitted to investigate the association between SBA utilisation and sociodemographic factors. Despite a significant improvement in the last two decades in both countries, the change was slower than hope for, and inconsistent. Women who received antenatal care were more likely to use an SBA service. SBA service utilisation was significantly more prevalent amongst literate women in Indonesia (AOR = 1.39, 95% CI: 1.24–1.54) and Nigeria (AOR = 1.41, 95% CI: 1.31–1.53) than their counterparts. The disparity based on geographic region and social factors remained significant over time. Given the significant disparities in SBA utilisation, there is a strong need to focus on community- and district-level interventions that aim at increasing SBA utilisation.