Return for prenatal care and childbirth services among Nigerian women using primary health care facilities

Abstract

The study assessed the return for prenatal care and childbirth services among Nigerian women using primary health care facilities. Design: A descriptive cross‐sectional approach was employed for the study. Methods: A total of 730 participants randomly recruited systematically from 21 purposively selected primary health care facilities in Ibadan, Nigeria were studied. A questionnaire and a checklist were used for data collection. The collection of data spanned three months (April to June, 2014). The data were analysed descriptively and inferentially while the results were presented in frequency tables. Results: The women's mean age was 28 ± 5.3 years. Out of the 730 women studied, 92.6% received prenatal care. The mean difference between the number of prenatal care registration and the number of childbirths was 76.5. Poor environmental hygiene of facilities, statistically significant cost of services and non‐availability of 24‐hr service were implicated for dissatisfaction with care received by the women and consequent poor return rate for childbirth.