Utilization of skilled birth attendant at delivery by pregnant women in rural Gondokoro county, Jubek state, South Sudan

Abstract

This is a community-based cross-sectional study conducted in the rural community of Gondokoro Island, Jubek State, South Sudan. The study aimed to examine the socio-demographic characteristics, enabling factors, need, health behavior, and environmental factors associated with the utilization of Skilled Birth Attendant (SBA) at delivery by pregnant women in Gondokoro. Women with under 1-year children were selected from households by one-stage systematic sampling. A developed and pilot tested structured questionnaire was administered to 338 eligible respondents and data obtained from April to May 2019. Bivariate and multiple logistic regression analyses were performed to determine factors associated and predictors of SBA utilization at delivery. There was a low rate of SBA utilization at delivery, 43.2% delivery attended by SBA and 59.5% home delivery with the non-skilled attendant however, 82.8% of mothers attended ANC services during pregnancy. Factors associated and predictors of SBA utilization were type of family (AOR=4.099 95% CI = 1.566-10.727), family support (AOR=0.281 95% CI =0.114-0.692), health history (AOR=5.060 95% CI =1.908-13.415), distance to a health facility (AOR=4.532 0 95% CI =1.660-12.71), long waiting hours for SBA attention (AOR=5.678 95% CI =2.246-14.356), and dissatisfaction of ANC service during pregnancy (AOR=0.0928 95% CI=0.020-0.481) among women in the study area. The study highlighted a low rate of SBA utilization at delivery compared to the ANC service utilization during pregnancy. There is a need for intervention to strengthen awareness, health education, and improve accessibility for pregnant mothers to skilled attendants during childbirth.