Key Features:

No. of pages: 96

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Abstract:

Background: Most developed countries have made significant progress in addressing maternal morbidity and maternity, but it appears that countries with very high maternal mortality burdens have made little progress in improving maternal health outcomes. Despite having only about 2% of the world’s population, Nigeria contribute about 10% of the World’s maternal deaths8 knowledge about safe motherhood practices could help improve maternal health outcomes.

Objectives: This survey studied the practices of safe motherhood among registered antenatal clients in Nkpor Urban, Anambra State Nigeria. It determined the knowledge, attitude and practice of safe motherhood among these respondents and also the proportion of health facilities that have the manpower, resources and skills to provide basic and comprehensive essential obstetrics care.

Methods: The study had a cross-sectional descriptive design. The thirty five health facilities in Nkpor were studied. Four hundred registered antenatal clients in these facilities were also studied using the systematic sampling technique. Check list for the heads of the health facilities and questionnaires for the registered antenatal clients were the research instruments used for data collection.

Results: It was found that 38.3% of the respondents were in the age range of 25-29 years which is the age range associated with the least risks during pregnancy and child birth while 13.6% and 0.5% were in the age ranges of 15 – 19 years and 45 – 49 years respectively, the age ranges associated with the highest risks during pregnancy and child birth. A good number of women (95.8%) were exposed to formal education and this had influence on their choice of place for delivery. Most of the women attended antenatal clinic regularly and complied with their routine medication and tetanus toxoid administration. All the women had knowledge of family planning methods and would wish to adopt any method but the choice of when to commence a method depended on their husbands in 51.7% of the respondents. 11 There was no government health facility in Nkpor. Most of the private facilities had the manpower, equipment and skills to provide basic and comprehensive essential obstetrics care.

CONCLUSIONS: Safe motherhood practice in Nkpor Urban was good but the statistical significance between the compared variables showed that level of education significantly affected safe motherhood practice in Nkpor. Therefore, government should take this into consideration in the distribution of universal basic education facilities in the state.

KEYWORDS: Safe motherhood, Ante-natal clients, Nkpor-urban, Family Planning, Obstetric Care.