Determinants of Maternal Health Service Utilization in North West, Nigeria: Analysis of the 2018 Nigeria Demographic Health Survey

Aim: This study evaluated the determinants of maternal healthcare services utilization in the Northwest regions of Nigeria.

Study Design: This study is a secondary data analysis of 2018 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) data. The 2018 NDHS used a cross-sectional study design.

Duration of Study: The study was conducted from November to December 2021.

Methodology: The data used in this study was extracted from the 2018 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) data. The study was carried out in the Northwest regions of Nigeria with 6390 women of reproductive age group (15-49). Data were analyzed using SPSS for windows version 25.0.

Results: Most of the respondents were less than 35 years (73.2%) and uneducated (85.4%). Most of them were married (97.4%) and of low socio-economic class (65.9%). Muslims accounted for 95.4%, 75.7% lived in rural areas and. 95.3% wanted their last pregnancy. Women of reproductive age with secondary/higher education were 4.87 [95% CI- 3.60-6.58; P<0.001] times more likely to use ANC than uneducated ones. Similarly, respondents in urban areas were also 1.43 [95% CI- 1.22-1.70; P<0.001] times more likely to attend ANC than those in rural areas. Also, Christians were 2.92 (95% CI- 1.94-4.40:P<0.001) more likely to use ANC services than Muslims. In the socio-economic class, middle AOR 2.42 (95% CI- 2.07-2.85:P<0.001) and upper AOR 4.20 (95% CI- 3.28-5.39:P<0.001) were more likely to attend ANC than women of low socioeconomic status.

Conclusion: These findings underscore the need for stakeholders to improve ANC uptake and skilled birth attendant utilization in Northwest and the entire country.