Who’s Recommendations on Maternal Health: Compliance of Pregnant and Postnatal Mothers in a Comprehensive Health Center, Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria

Abstract

Maternal health is the health of women during pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period. Every day, approximately 800 women die from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth and 99% of all maternal deaths occur in developing countries. The aim of this study was to assess the compliance level of pregnant and postnatal mothers to the World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations on maternal health in a Comprehensive Health Center in Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria. A total of 190 participants were selected, using purposive sampling technique. A semi-structured adapted interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to assess health care seeking behavior of mothers. Data were analyzed and presented using descriptive (frequency, percentages and means) and inferential statistics (post-hoc Tukey HSD) for hypotheses testing. The results findings revealed that participants had poor health seeking behavior as only 27.4% visited the Health Centre more than three times, half of the participants delivered their babies at health facilities and 37.9% of the participants had postnatal visit of three times and above. Also, barriers affecting utilization of maternal health care services were identified in which majority mentioned financial constraints (71.6%) and poor road networks (63.2%). This study provides an objective data that revealed the gap between the participants’ level of health care and WHO recommended level of health care. It also revealed the low level of maternal health care seeking behavior in the study area. Efforts should be made by healthcare professionals, especially nurses and midwives to create awareness and educate people on the importance of prompt seeking of appropriate maternal health care services.