Rural-Urban Differences in the Utilization of Maternal Healthcare in Ghana: The Case of Antenatal and Delivery Services

Abstract: Although maternal health in Ghana has generally improved over the past two decades, the current MMR implies that Ghana‟s MMR is approximately 2.4 times higher than the set target in MDG 5. Using data from the Ghana Demographic and Health Survey 2008, an attempt is made in this study to investigate the rural-urban differences in maternal health care (antenatal and delivery care) service utilization in Ghana. Most previous studies focused more broadly on the utilization of MHC services either in the entire country or some parts of the country. This study fills the gap by looking at women from the rural and urban areas with varying standards of living and other socioeconomic attributes. The study also includes some women autonomy variables to find out their effect on MHC service utilization in both areas. Lastly, an attempt is also made to investigate the effect of informal education on the use of MHC services using