Delivery outside hospital after antenatal care: prevalence and its predictors

Over a period of 5 years (1994 - 1998), of 9519 women who booked for antenatal care at the two tertiary hospitals of the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital Complex, Ile Ife,-Nigeria,12.8% (1220) defaulted from hospital delivery. The casenotes of these patients were retrieved from the medical records department and were sorted into two groups of defaulters and non-defaulters from hospital delivery. Information obtained from the casenotes includes sociodemographic characteristic, past obstetric and present obstetric history. Bivariate analysis revealed six potential predictors; however, following adjustment by multiple logistic regression, only history of previous delivery outside the hospital (OR = 3.13, CI = 2.06 - 4.67), planned elective caesarean section in current pregnancy (OR = 2.03, 1.66 - 2.75), caesarean section in last delivery (OR = 1.93, CI = 1.57 - 2.76) and objection to admission in the current pregnancy (OR = 1.33, CI = 1.04 - 1.65) remained as significant predictors.