ASSESMENT OF SKILLED DELIVERY SERVICE UTILIZATION AND ASSOCIATED FACTORS AMONG WOMEN OF CHILDBEARING AGE IN CHILGA WOREDA,NORTH GONDAR ZONE,NORTH WEST ETHIOPIA

Abstract

ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION: According to the recent review of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG), little progress has been made with respect to MDG 5 on improving maternal health. Skilled delivery care is considered a crucial function within the health care system for saving the lives of mothers and newborns and represents an important indicator for monitoring MDG 5. However, this service is significantly lower in Ethiopia and as well as in Amhara National Regional State. OBJECTIVES: To assess skilled delivery service utilization and associated factors among mothers who gave birth in the last 2 years, in Chilga Woreda, North Gondar Zone, North West Ethiopia. METHODS: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted on mothers who gave birth in the last 2 years. Multistage sampling was used to get the total sample size of 500 participants. A pre-tested and structured questionnaire was used to collect data on skilled delivery service utilization and associated factors. Data entry was carried out using EPI info version 3.5.1 and transferred to SPSS version 16.0 soft ware packages for analysis. RESULTS: The study indicated that 18.3% of the respondents delivered in health facilities with the assistance of skilled birth attendants and 81.7% of the mothers gave birth at home, of whom 40.7 % of them assisted by trained traditional birth attendants. Mothers who attended secondary education and above levels of education were over 2.5 times more likely to use skilled attendants than those who were illiterate (AOR=2.64 and 95% CI: 1.06, 6.57) and mothers in urban were about 14 times more likely to utilize skilled delivery attendants than those who live in rural kebeles (AOR=13.56 and 95%CI: 6.75, 27.27). Health facility visit during last pregnancy, Number of pregnancy and attitude of the mothers towards skilled delivery service utilization were other factors which showed significant association with skilled delivery service utilization (P-value < 0.05 for each). CONCLUSION: Skilled delivery service utilization in the study area was low. Rural mothers were less likely to use skilled attendants during their child birth in health facilities than urban counterpart. RECOMMENDATION: increasing educational opportunities for girls, promotion of ANC follow-up with provision of MCH information particularly, the need for SDA, training in midwifery for health extension workers, the government and other responsible bodies should make efforts to increase community based health education and awareness creation programs are recommended.