Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Oct 6;17(10):e0275303.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0275303. eCollection 2022.

Maternal autonomy and associated factors in making decision to utilize health service for themselves and neonates in south Ethiopia: A community based cross-sectional survey

Degefa Gomora Tesfaye  1 , Yohannes Tekalegn Efa  2 , Fikreab Desta  2 , Mulugeta Adugnew Gebeyehu  3 , Sana'a Kedir Abdella  3
Affiliations

Maternal autonomy and associated factors in making decision to utilize health service for themselves and neonates in south Ethiopia: A community based cross-sectional survey

Degefa Gomora Tesfaye et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Background: The definition of women's autonomy used in the study is control over finances, decision-making power, and the extent of freedom of movement by women. Lower autonomy of women affects the socio-economic, emotional, fertility decision, contraceptive use, and sexual life of the women. Thus, this study aimed to assess maternal autonomy and associated factors in making a decision to utilize health services for themselves and neonates in south Ethiopia.

Methods: Community-based cross-sectional study design was conducted from January 1 to March 2, 2021, in Shashamane town. Four hundred ten postpartum mothers were selected using a stratified random sampling technique and interviewed for the survey using questions composed of decision-making autonomy components (decision-making power, control over finances, and freedom of movement). The data were checked for consistency, coded, and entered using EpiData Manager (version 4.6.0.4) and analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 26. Descriptive statistics, composite score analysis, and binary and multivariate logistic regression were done to capture the objectives.

Result: 410 postpartum mothers were interviewed while the mean and standard deviation of the participants' age was 26.96 ± 5.38. About 48.5% of mothers had high decision-making autonomy for their own and their neonates' health service utilization. Being in monogamous marriage (AOR = 1.82, 95% CI: 1.21, 2.74), and mode of delivery (Cesarean section) (AOR = 1.91, 95% CI: 1.18, 3.07) were significantly associated with having high maternal decision-making autonomy.

Conclusions: More than half of the study participants had low maternal decision-making autonomy for their own and their neonates' health service utilization. Being in monogamous marriage, and mode of delivery (Cesarean section) were factors significantly associated with high maternal decision-making autonomy. Encouraging mothers to use facility delivery was recommended.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Maternal decision-making autonomy among postpartum mothers in Shashamate town, Oromia, Ethiopia, 2021 (N = 410).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Bloom SS, Lippeveld T, Wypij D. Does Antenatal Care Make a Difference to Safe Delivery? A Study in Urban Uttar Pradesh, India. Health Policy and Planning. 1999;14. - PubMed
    1. Gomaa AE, Tapp LC, Luckhaupt SE, Vanoli K, Sarmiento RF, Raudabaugh WM, et al.. Occupational traumatic injuries among workers in health care facilities—United States, 2012–2014. MMWR Morbidity and mortality weekly report. 2015;64(15):405. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Weiner SJ, Schwartz A, Sharma G, Binns-Calvey A, Ashley N, Kelly B, et al.. Patient-centered decision making and health care outcomes: an observational study. Annals of internal medicine. 2013;158(8):573–9. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-158-8-201304160-00001 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Angel-Urdinola D, Wodon Q. Income generation and intra-household decision making: A gender analysis for Nigeria. Gender disparities in Africa’s labor market. 2010;381.
    1. Tsegay Y, Gebrehiwot T, Goicolea I, Edin K, Lemma H, San Sebastian M. Determinants of antenatal and delivery care utilization in Tigray region, Ethiopia: a cross-sectional study. International journal for equity in health. 2013;12(1):1–10. doi: 10.1186/1475-9276-12-30 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

Substances