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Maternal Health Care Seeking Behaviour Pregnancy Outcome
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Adele (2010) explains health seeking behaviour to be those activities undertaken by
individuals in response to any discomfort felt. He further stated that in the developed
countries like United States of America (USA), most women visit ANC early in
pregnancy, comply with prenatal directives and are attended to by skilled health care
providers when in labour. He also suggests that in the developing countries, especially in
the rural sub-Saharan Africa, most women consider pregnancy a natural process and the
services of skilled health care providers deemed not necessary. Rastogi (2012) observed
low utilization of ANC among rural women in India due to lack of means of
transportation, also because the women were often shy when discussing their health
problems before a male professional. Rastogi suggests that women who had formal
education up to secondary school level sought health care from skilled providers.
Jayaraman, Chandrasekhar and Gebreselassie (2008),stated that most of the pregnant
women deliver at home without skilled health care providers, while only a few receive up
to three antenatal visits.Woldemicael(2008) suggests that due to lack of transportation
some pregnant women may not utilize ANC and other delivery services by skilled care
providersin health facilities and therefore seek help from diverse fields.
Adamu (2011) suggests that MHCSB is the way mothers take care of their health and the
unborn child so that they will reach the end of pregnancy very healthy with positive
outcome.Yubia (2011) opined that in Nigeria, maternal health care seeking behaviour is
similar to that of other developing countries where negative health seekingbehaviours
shown by most mothers often lead to poor use of maternal health care services provided by
skilled health care attendants with eventual negative pregnancy outcome. Yubiafurther
explained that poor treatment seeking behaviours predispose them to complications that
could be properly managed if detected early during ANC. The number of women attending
ANC in southern Nigeriais higher than in the north.NDHS (2008) suggests that the
percentage of births attended to by skilled health care providers range from 81.8% in the
South East (SE) to9.8% in the North West (NW). Similarly, 90.1% of women in the NW
are more likely to give birth at home compared to 22.5% in the South West (SW).Adamu
(2011) suggests that this high attendance is associated with educational and economic
empowerment of more women in the southern than in the northern Nigeria. The number of
visits to ANC is a key determinant of whether a woman giving birth seeks institutional
care or care at home under a skilled health care provider as against delivery at home under
unskilled birth attendant.Adamu (2011)stated that a woman who attends ANC is more
likely to deliver in a health facility. Young mothers (below 35years) are also more likely to
make decisions on seeking health care than older mothers (above 35years) and to have
institutional delivery. On the other hand, older mothers especially multipara who have
never had any complications in pregnancy believe that safe delivery is a natural process so
may not seek health care under skilled health care providers. Yubia (2011) opined that
such women rely on their experience and help from fellow older mothers for care and
delivery.
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ABSRACT - [ Total Page(s): 1 ]The purpose of this study was to examine the maternal health care seeking behaviour andpregnancy outcome of pregnant women in two rural communities in Enugu State. Theobjectives of study were to: (i) determine the gestational age at which pregnant womenbook for Antenatal Care(ANC) in Udi and Abiacommunities, (ii)determine how oftenpregnant women attend Antenatal Care(ANC)during the third trimester, (iii) ascertain thefacilities utilized by pregnant women with complications for care and (iv) asce ... Continue reading---
