Mothers' Utilisation of Programme Interventions to Reduce Maternal Mortality in Southwestern Nigeria

TH"enty three years after the safe motherhood initiative, maternal mortality is still soaring, as more than half a million women die from pregnancy and related causes annually. Improving programme utili::ation would likely reduce the incidence of maternal deaths in Nigeria. The paper examines the socio-economic factors influencing maternal mortality. The study used face-to-face structured inteJTiell' and focus group discussion ll'ith a two level analytical approach capturing both the qualitative data and information from the discussion segment. The findings show that mother's age, education, health centre distance, occupation and husband occupation are significant enhancers of antenatal clinic registration and utili::ation of medicarefacilities among mothers at 'p values' ofO. 002, 0.001, 0.007 and 0.000 respectively. While the paper provided a guide for informed decision on maternal health services in the counfly, it also suggests compulsory maternal health education and job empO\I'ermentfor the prospective mothers