Home Delivery Practices and Associated Factors in Ethiopia

Abstract

Background: The risk of a woman in a developing country dying from a maternal-related cause is higher compared to a woman living in a developed country. Despite the fact that delivery care service utilization is essential for further improvement of mothers and newborns, the coverage of delivery service in Ethiopia is still near to the ground. This study aimed to identify factors associated with home delivery among women in Ethiopia at their last birth.

Methods: The data was obtained from 2016 Ethiopia Demographic and Health Survey which is the fourth survey. The sample was selected using a stratified, two-stage cluster sampling design and the data was analyzed using mixed effect logistic regression model.

Results: A total of 10,622 women were considered in this study and 67.2% of them gave birth at home. The percentage of home delivery at their last birth was high in Afar and Somali region (89.6% and 81.7%, respectively) while only 3.3% women who lived in Addis Ababa delivered at home. Living in rural areas, being uneducated, older age, not watching TV, and being poor are predictors of home delivery at 5% level of significance.

Conclusion: There is a need of giving special attention to women living in rural area, women from poor families and uneducated women to decrease home delivery.

Keywords: Deliver care; Developing country; Ethiopia; Home delivery; Mixed effect; Random effect.