Factors Influencing Delivery Practices among Pregnant Women in Kenya:

Copyright © 2014 ISSR Journals. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. ABSTRACT: Maternal mortality remains to be a major public health concern globally. In Kenya, pregnancy and childbirth is still an important cause of mortality among women of reproductive age. Due to the various awareness campaigns in Kenya on antenatal clinic attendance in health facilities, high numbers of women are now attending antenatal clinic (ANC). Despite the high rates of ANC attendance, utilization of skilled birth attendants during delivery remains very low. Most women still deliver away from health facilities without the assistance of skilled birth attendants. This study was conducted in Wareng’ district and it is based on the premise that, despite awareness campaigns on skilled birth attendance in the country and in particular Wareng ’ district, there are other factors that determine delivery practices among pregnant women, which include the women’s level of education, income levels, marital status and physical access of health facilities. Findings of the study showed that educated women have a better understanding of issues and are able to make their own decisions on matters concerning their health. Those women who make more visits to health facilities are constantly reminded during visits on the importance of delivering in the health facility and being assisted by a skilled birth attendant hence, increasing their chances of utilizing the same. This study recommends that the health practitioners in the reproductive health departments not only in the study area, but also throughout the country, should work with relevant stakeholders and embrace health educatio