Abstract:
Background: - Ensuring institutional delivery for each child birth is the most critical
intervention in reducing maternal and neonatal mortality and morbidity. In Ethiopia the
proportions of births delivered in health institutions is very low and even for women who
have access to the services. The proportion of birth occurring in health facilities is only
16%.
Objective: - To assess the factors that influence intention of pregnant women to use
institutional delivery from March to April 2016.
Methods: - A Community based cross-sectional study was conducted in Wollaita Soddo
town. Theory of Planned Behavior was employed to evaluate intention of pregnant
women for delivery utilization. Data was collected by using pre-tested, structured
questionnaire. The data collected was checked for its completeness and consistency,
coded, entered and cleaned by using Epi data 3.5.1 and exported to SPSS version 20.00
statistical software.
Result:-A total of 326 pregnant women who had ANC follow up were included in the
study. On multiple logistic regression husband‘s occupational status and informed about
delivery places were statistically significantly associated with intention to use
institutional delivery among ANC attendants from distal variables and Attitude and
subjective norms significantly affect intention from proximal variables. The odds of
intention to use institutional delivery among pregnant women who were informed about
delivery places was 2.658 times more likely than those who were not informed about
delivery places AOR=2.658(1.357, 5.207) at P-value 0.005.Those women whose
husbands‘ were employed were 2.2 times more likely to intend to use institutional
delivery than women whose husbands‘ were not employed (AOR=2.2(1.308, 3.7) at Pvalue 0.003.
Conclusion:-The study concluded that the intention of giving birth at health institution
increased with being informed by health professionals about the place of delivery and
husband‘s occupational status being employed.
Recommendation: - Health institution has to do more on counseling all clients whcame
for ANC on use of delivery place and women should be encouraged to use institutional
delivery.
