Abstract:
Background: The third maternal delay for institutional delivery is the time it takes from
arriving at the health care facility to receiving adequate and appropriate labour and delivery
service. It remains a major challenge by contributing for 36.3% of maternal mortality in
Ethiopia.
Objective: To assess the magnitude of the third maternal delay and its associated factors
among postpartum mothers at public health facilities in Ambo town.
Method: Institution based cross-sectional study was conducted among 375 postpartum
mothers who were selected by systematic random sampling technique from May 1 to May 30
2023. An interviewer-administered structured questionnaire and observation was used to
collect data from participants. The collected data were checked, coded and entered to Epi Data version 4.4.2.2, and exported to SPSS version 26 for analysis. Bivariable logistic
regression was used to identify variables with p-value less than 0.25 and multivariable
logistic regression analysis was applied at 95% CI to determine the presence and strength of
association between independent and dependent variables. On multivariable analysis P-value
<0.05 was considered to declare predictor variables. A frequency distribution was calculated
to describe the study population in relation to relevant variables. The study finding was
presented by tables, text and graphs.
Result: A total of 375 postpartum mothers participated in the study, yielding a response rate
of 98%. The magnitude of third maternal delay was 28.3% (95% CI: 23.8-33.1). Drug
availability (AOR = 4.16; 95% CI: 1.40-12.38), laboratory investigations (AOR = 3.52; 95%
CI: 1.29-9.65), blood transfusion (AOR = 3.49; 95% CI: 1.47-8.31), refer (AOR = 4.31; 95%
CI: 1.87-9.92), human resource adequacy (AOR = 3.00; 95% CI: 1.31-6.87) and ANC visits
(AOR = 3.52; 95% CI: 1.43-8.65) were factors associated with third maternal delay.
Conclusion: This study concluded that, the magnitude of third maternal delay was 28.3%.
The third maternal delay was significantly associated with Drug availability, laboratory
investigations, blood transfusion, refer, human resource adequacy and ANC visits.
