Perceived determinants of the utilization of maternal health-care services by rural women in Kogi State, Nigeria

Half a million women die each year from complications related to pregnancy 99.0% of whom are citizens of developing countries. Maternal mortality is the result of a combination of biological medical and social factors. Medical causes worldwide include haemorrhage infection eclampsia obstructed labour and abortion. Behind these diagnostic categories lie the true reasons women die: the failure of the health system to prevent unwanted or ill-timed pregnancies; the unavailability and inaccessibility of qualified health care; and the logistic problems of providing emergency obstetric care when and where it is needed. Maternal mortality in developing countries can be analysed through what patients who do make a timely decision to seek care experience by way of delay in care because the accessibility of health services is a problem. In rural areas a woman with an obstetric emergency may find the closest facility equipped only for basic treatments and have no way to reach a regional centre whereresources exist. This study was undertaken to investigate how perceptions by rural women in Kogi State of Nigeria about the status of maternal health-care facilities and services in their communities affects their utilization of these services. (excerpt)