Factors Contributing to the Choice of Place of Delivery by Mothers Aged 15 - 49 Years in Bumanya Sub County, Kaliro District.

Abstract

Background: The choice of place of delivery contributes to maternal mortality as it determines the care the mother receives during childbirth, and 80% of the deaths occur during this period (MDG report, 2010). Objective: To establish the factors that contributed to the choice of place of delivery among mothers aged 15-49 years in Bumanya Sub County, Kaliro district in order to suggest functional interventions that would encourage institutional deliveries. Method: A cross-sectional study design was employed with researcher administered questionnaire technique as method for collection of data from 380 respondents who had given birth within two years prior to the study. Data was collected on the background characteristics, choice of place of delivery, socio-demographic, health facility and individual factors. Descriptive, Bivariate and multivariate analyses were undertaken in SPSS and frequency tables, pie-charts, graphs, odds ratio and pvalue were generated. Results: Health facility births were 74% which was higher than the national (38%), with 27.10% being private births. Yet only one Private health unit is registered that offer delivery services. Similarly, availability of birth attendants (OR=3674.11,95% CI=246.80-548.96, pvalue<0.0001), availability of supplies (OR=15.90, 95% CI=3.28-77.22, pvalue=0.001), health workers’ attitude (OR=0.1, 95% CI=0.00-0.30, pvalue=0.008), accessibility to facilities (OR=0.02, 95% CI=0.00-0.48, pvalue=0.016), occupation (business, OR=0.05, 95% CI=0.00-0.121,pvalue=0.001) and education were revealed by the study as key predictors of choice of place of childbirth. Conclusion: The socio demographic, health facility and individual factors act together to influence mothers’ choice. Therefore, multi-sectoral approach should be adopted to improve maternal health.