Assessment of Skilled Birth Attendant Utilization Among Women Of Child Bearing Age (15-49)? in Yirgacheffe Town, Gedeo Zone, South Ethiopia, 2011/12

Skilled attendant for every pregnant woman during childbirth is the most critical intervention for improving maternal and child health. Every day, at least 1, 600 women die worldwide from the complications of pregnancy and childbirth, 90 % of which occurring in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. So long as the Ethiopia situation is concerned, maternal and infant mortality as well as morbidity levels are among the highest in the world. To assess utilization of skilled birth attendant at delivery, among mothers who gave birth in the past two Years prior to the survey in Yirgacheffe town. A community based cross-sectional study was conducted among women residing in Yirgacheffe town. After establishing the sampling frame of each household, systematic random sampling technique was used. Crude and adjusted Odds ratios were performed for the association between variables and stepwise multiple logistic regressions were used to identify factors that affect utilization of skilled birth attendant. A total of 440 women were included in the study.58.9 % of the women utilize skilled birth attendant during delivery. Births to women with primary education are two times more likely (OR=2.3 and 95 % CI=1.24-4.2), and births to women with secondary and above education are four times more likely (OR=3.6 and 95 %CI=1.5-8.4) to utilize SDA as compared to illiterate women. Women who have ANC visits (OR=16.7 and (95 %CI= 8.2, 33.89), more likely utilized SDA than who did not visit. The study finding revealed that utilization of SDA was more than half, still there is a gap between users and providers. Consequently, Community members should be discouraged harmful traditional and usual practices that hinder health facility delivery care utilization.