Preferences regarding place of delivery among rural and urban women in Kaduna State, Nigeria: a comparative study

Background: The place of delivery is a recognised determinant of the outcome of the birth process for both mothers and their babies, thus having an effect on maternal and early neonatal mortality rates, which are high in many developing countries. Institutional deliveries have since been advocated as a panacea, but what are the preferences of women by residential location in northern Nigeria? Aim: To comparatively ascertain the place of delivery preferences among rural and urban women in Kaduna State, north-western Nigeria and the factors that determine these choices. Methods: A comparative, community-based, cross-sectional study was conducted among 340 women (170 rural and 170 urban). Data were collected with the aid of questionnaires and analysed using SPSS (version 25). Chi-squared (x 2 ) test was used to test for associations (p-value ≤0.05). Results: About two-thirds (67.9%) of the women were aged 20-34 years (mean ± SD = 29.81 ± 7.63 years) and over 80% were married. Facility-based delivery was 67.7% across both study areas (rural 45.4%, urban 88.9%). Over half of the rural women delivered at home (51.9%) compared with 9.9% among urban women (p = 0.00). Determinants of choice of delivery location include respondents’ tribe, religion and educational levels (in the rural area), and age, educational levels, income and parity (among urban women), and also spousal income and educational levels in both areas. Conclusion: Institutional delivery was significantly higher among urban women with economic,cultural and literacy factors being the predominant determinants of place of delivery in both groups.