Factors Influencing the Choice of Place of Delivey Among Mothers in Sekanyonyi Sub-county Mityana District, Uganda.

Abstract

Introduction: The study on factors that influence mothers’ choice of place of delivery intends to establish reasons why mothers deliver in different sites. The main objective of the study was to understand factors influencing the choice of place of delivery in Sekanyonyi Sub-county Mityana District. A total of 323 mothers of babies with less than two years old were sampled. General objective: To understand the factors that influence mothers' choice of place of delivery in Sekanyonyi Sub-county Mityana District. This was done among mothers between the ages of 15-45 years with the view of improving maternal health in the district. Methodology: The study adopted a cross sectional study design geared towards establishing the factors influencing the choice of place of delivery among mothers in Sekanyonyi Sub-county in Mityana district. Data was collected by means of questionnaires and focus group discussion guide. Analysis was by using descriptive statistics and bivariate analysis. Results: The study established that 51.4% of the mothers interviewed made their own decision about the place of delivery, 12.7% it was made by their husbands. Majority 83.6% of the mothers delivered from public health facility while 42.1% reported private health facility as a preferred delivery place and the major reason for the preferred place was hostility. It further established that the majority of women attended ANC. But only 38.7% attended the four times as recommended by WHO. Education attainment of the women was low. Conclusion: The study concluded that the choice of delivery place was influenced by distance where by most of the mothers delivered in the public health facility reason being it was close to their homes. However most of the women preferred delivering from private health facility due to hostility. Therefore the perception of choice varied among women and was influenced by several factors.