Predictors of utilization of facility-based ante-natal care and delivery services in a Nigerian Rural Community

BACKGROUND: With maternal mortality ratio of 2,000/100,000 live births and perinatal mortality rate of 40/1,000 total births, Cross River State is one of the states with the highest maternal and perinatal deaths in Nigeria. One of the causes of these poor health indices is low utilization of facility-based maternal and child healthcare services during pregnancy and childbirth. The objective of this study was to assess the predictors of utilization of antenatal care and delivery services in Akpabuyo, a rural community in Cross River State of Nigeria. METHOD: This was an analytical cross-sectional survey. Data were collected from 370 pregnant women between June and July, 2013 and analyzed using SPSS version 25. RESULTS: Binary logistic regression showed that compared with women with tertiary education, women with non-formal education were less likely to attend antenatal clinic (AOR=0.510, 95% CI=0.219–1.188) although the difference was not statistically significant. Also, compared with farmers, full-time housewives were less likely to deliver in a health facility (AOR=0.650, 95% CI=0.305–1.389) while civil servants were nearly five times more likely to deliver in the health facility (AOR=4.750, 95%CI=1.616–13.962). CONCLUSION: The predictors of antenatal care and facility delivery services utilization identified by the study were educational status and occupation. This raises the need for policies and programmes to ensure girl child education and the economic empowerment of women.