Completion Of The Continuum Of Maternity Care And Associated Factors Among Women Who Gave Birth In The Last 6 Months In Chelia District, West Shoa Zone, Oromia, Central Ethiopia

Abstract

Background: The continuum of maternity care is a continuity of care that a woman receives during pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum period from skilled providers in a comprehensive and integrated manner. Completion of the continuum of maternity care was considered when women received at least four antenatal care visits, childbirth attended by skilled birth attendants and postpartum check-up within the first week of delivery. Despite existing evidences regarding maternity care services discretely, it was not well known in Ethiopia including the study area. Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the completion of maternity continuum of care and associated factors among women who gave birth in the last 6 months in Chelia district, Oromia region, Ethiopia, 2021. Methods: A community based cross-sectional study with a stratified random sampling technique was conducted among 428 mothers who gave birth in the last 6 months in Chelia district from August 20 to September 30, 2021 with a pretested, structured and interviewer-administered questionnaire. Data was entered into EpiData3.1 and analyzed using SPSS software version 25. Bivariable logistic regression analysis was done and variables with p-value < 0.25 were considered as candidate for multivariable binary logistic regression analysis. Adjusted Odds Ratios (AOR) and their 95% confidence intervals were estimated to identify the presence and strength of associations, and statistical significance was declared at a p-value <0.05. Result: An overall completion of maternity continuum of care was 21.5% (95% CI: 17.8-25.5). Secondary and above educational attainment of women (AOR=4.20, 95% CI:1.26-13.97), < 30 minutes’ of time spent on walking by foot (AOR=4.00, 95% CI: 1.67-9.58) and the use of Ambulance as means of transportation to reach the nearest health facility(AOR=3.68, 95% CI: 1.23-11.06), having five and more children (AOR=0.21, 95% CI: 0.05-0.90), planned pregnancy (AOR=3.29, 95% CI: 1.02- 10.57), attending pregnant women’s conference (AOR=13.96, 95% CI: 6.22-31.30), early ANC booking (AOR=3.30, 95% CI: 1.54-7.05), being accompanied by partners (AOR=3.64, 95% CI: 1.76-7.53) and informed when to return for postnatal care (AOR=3.57, 95% CI: 1.47-8.70) were factors associated with the completion of maternity continuum of care. Conclusion and recommendation: An overall completion of the continuum of maternity care was low in the study area. Educational status of mothers, time spent by walking on foot and means of transportation used to reach the nearest health facility, parity, having planned pregnancy, attending pregnant women’s conference, time of antenatal care booking, partners accompany and informing when to return for postnatal care before discharge were factors associated with the completion of maternity continuum of care. Therefore, appropriate strategic interventions that retain women in the continuum of maternity care by targeting those factors were recommended to be in place by different stakeholders.