Factors Influencing the Choice of Delivery Setting Among Nursing Mothers Attending Primary Health Care Centre in Ilishan, Ogun State, Nigeria

- The success of child birth after the period of pregnancy is associated with the place of delivery setting. It is recommended that pregnant women deliver their babies at an approved setting and supervised by a qualified midwife or personnel. However, pregnant women are usually influenced by several factors which influence their choice of delivery setting. This often leads to various degrees of delivery outcomes which could either be good or bad. The aim of the study is to investigate the factors influencing the choice of delivery setting among nursing mothers attending primary health care center in ilishan Remo, Ogun state. Descriptive cross-sectional design was adopted for this study and convenient sampling technique was used to select 187 nursing mothers attending primary healthcare center in Ilishan, Ikenne Local government of Ogun State. The researcher designed questionnaire with 30 close ended questions divided into four sections which was used to collect data from the residents. Ethical clearance to conduct this study was obtained from Babcock University Ethical Review Committee and informed consent was obtained from participants. Data collected was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS - Version 25). The result from the study revealed that the following socio-demographic variables significantly influence choice of delivery; Age (p=0.000), ethnic group (p=0.000), Marital Status (p=0.000), Religion (p=0.000), Educational level (p=0.000). The study also showed that majority (72.2%) of the respondents indicated that their husbands have positive influence on their choice of place of delivery. Furthermore, the findings reveals that socio cultural factors has an influence on choice of delivery of nursing mother (R = .984; R2 = .968; F (1,6722); Sig. = 0.000). The study concluded that socio-demographic variable such as age, marital status, educational level, ethnic group influenced the choice of delivery setting. Also the study found that socio-cultural factors and economic factors influenced the choice delivery setting among nursing mothers and women of reproductive age in Ilishan remo, Ogun State. Also, the study recommends adequate sensitization program is needed to help the women of reproductive age in Ilishan concerning the benefit of child birth in a hospital setting or primary healthcare. Community leaders, church and Muslim leaders should be encouraged to enlighten their followers on the need to always chose the hospital instead of going to places not recommended or adequate enough for delivery.