Factors that determine the choice of birth place among pregnant women in selected facilities in Ibadan North Local Government Area, Ibadan, Nigeria.

backgroundMaternal and infant mortality has been a major problem globally, especially in developing countries like Nigeria. These deaths occur as a result of complications that arise during labor, delivery and after delivery, it could also be as a result of obstetric hemorrhage and preeclampsia during pregnancy and therefore, the choice of birth place is a major factor that determines birth outcomes and quality of life for the mother and child. Thus, previous researches in this area focused on the barriers to deliveries in hospital-based facilities but this study aimed to identify the factors that determine the choice of a woman’s delivery in a church/mission house, a private hospital or a tertiary health care facility, as in why a pregnant woman would choose to give birth in a church/mission house or in a hospital-based facility.

methodsThis study adopted a cross-sectional descriptive design and self-administered questionnaires were used to gather data from the pregnant women in the selected health facilities. The four health facilities were selected using the multistage sampling technique. The pregnant women were randomly selected from the four health facilities and a total of 310 pregnant women participated in the study. Data collected was analyzed using SPSS version 25.0 and hypotheses were tested using chi-square at 0.05 level of significance.

resultsA total of 310 women participated in this study. Results showed that 71.7% of the respondents had good knowledge about the choice of birth place, the result further revealed that 91.6% of the respondents had high satisfaction about the birth place they chose and the services they received. Multiple logistic regression revealed that Prayers for pregnant women had the highest odds ratio (OR = 4.125, 95% CI: 0.905, 18.807), which implied that it was four times more likely to determine the choice of birth place in a mission house. The competency of the healthcare providers was almost twice more likely to predict the choice of birthplace among the respondents (OR = 1.711, 95% CI: 0.322, 9.083). The cost of giving birth was also identified to be almost twice more likely to predict the choice of birthplace among the respondents (OR = 1.711, 95% CI: 0.322, 9.083). Also, nearness of healthcare facility to place of residence was 1.395odds more likely to predict the choice of birthplace among the participants (OR = 1.395, 95% CI: 0.399, 4.882). The reduced waiting time for pregnant women at the healthcare facility is 1.198odds more likely to predict the choice of birthplace among the participants (OR = 1.198, 95% CI: 0.274, 5.232). The results further showed that there was no significant relationship between the pregnant women’s level of education and the knowledge about choice of birth place (p-value = 0.194) while there was a significant relationship between the number of previous deliveries and the knowledge about choice of birth place (p-value-= 0.012).

conclusionThe study concluded with discussion of findings and recommended that emphasis on delivery in health facilities with skilled birth attendants should be made during antenatal classes.