Predictors associated with giving birth at home among women in Ethiopia

Abstract

Introduction: maternal mortality is a worldwide community health concern. Home deliveries are common in Ethiopia, and most births occur at home without the assistance of health experts. Maternal mortality reduced in recent decades but still has a very high maternal mortality rate in Ethiopia. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the risk factors surrounding giving birth at home among women in Ethiopia. Methods: this study's data source was the 2019 Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey (EDHS). A total of 23,007 women who met the study's objective and criteria were included. A binary logistic regression model and a multistage stratified sampling technique were used. Results: women living in a rural area (AOR = 2.135, 95% CI: 1.805, 2.525), women in the middle (AOR = 0.670, 95% CI: 0.590, 0.760), and wealth index (AOR = 0.375, 95% CI: 0.326, 0.430), mothers who attended primary education (AOR = 0.819, 95% CI: 0.733, 0.915), secondary and above (AOR = 0.388, 95% CI: 0.303, 0.496), 4-6 living children (AOR= 0.780, 95% CI: 0.160, 0.873), mother age from 21-30 (AOR= 0.291, 95% CI: 0.243, 0.349) and mother age from 31 and above (AOR = 0.074, 95% CI: 0.060, 0.091) were significantly associated predictors for giving birth at home in Ethiopia. Conclusion: we discovered that geographical region, place of residence, education level, marital status, age of mother at first birth, mother age group, number of living children, religion, and wealth index were significantly associated predictors of giving birth at home among Ethiopian women.