Assessment of Maternal Health Seeking Behavior and Service Utilization among Women of Reproductive Age in South- Eastern, Nigeria

Health seeking behavior and utilization of maternal healthcare services are proximate factors that influence maternal morbidity and mortality in any society. We therefore assessed the pattern of health seeking behavior and types of maternal healthcare services utilized by women of the reproductive age in parts of Southeastern Nigeria. A cross sectional descriptive method involving the use of a well-structured pretested questionnaire was used to collect data from 521 randomly selected women between the ages of 15-49 years. Informed oral consent was obtained from these women prior to their recruitment for the study. Descriptive statistical analysis was performed on the data obtained using the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS). The mean age of the respondents was 32± 0.07620 years and most(50.5%) attained secondary education. There was a significant relationship between healthcare services and mother's age (p<0.000) with women between 29-35yrs (52.2%) utilizing healthcare services more than those in other age groups. Place of residence (r =0.568, p≤.001) and religion (r = 0.784, p≤0.001) were also significantly associated with health seeking behaviour. About 58% of the respondents understood that good maternal healthcare can reduce maternal mortality and morbidity. Our findings showed good health seeking behaviour and service utilization in the study area despite the identified hindering factors. These underscore the need to empower women of reproductive age as well as to put mechanisms in place that will increase their access to quality maternal health care services.