Individual and Community‐Level Determinants of Getting Immediate Postnatal Health Check‐Up After Birth in Ethiopia: Evidence From the Ethiopian Mini‐Demographic and Health Survey‐2019

Background Women and newborns require support and careful monitoring after birth. The first day to 6 weeks after birth was the most neglected portion in the utilization of maternal health care. Determinants of postnatal checkups of women in the first 2 days after birth were not updated since the 2016 Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) report of Ethiopia. This study reported the level of care and determinants to all concerned bodies working in the area throughout the country using 2019 mini‐demographic survey data of Ethiopia. Objective To assess individual and community‐level determinants of postnatal health check in the first 2 days after birth in Ethiopia using Ethiopian mini‐DHS 2019 survey data. Methods A cross‐sectional survey data from the Ethiopian mini‐DHS involved 3012 women who had given birth in the last 2 years preceding the survey. Descriptive analysis was performed for proportions, mean, and standard deviations of individual and community‐level variables. A multilevel binary logistic regression model was applied to observe determinant factors at the individual and community level. A p ‐value ( p < 0.25) was used to screen variables for the model, and p < 0.05 was used to declare statistical association in the final multilevel model. The study period was March 11, 2023 to April 14, 2023. Results Two hundred ninety‐one (9.9%) women reported a postnatal checkup within 2 h after birth. Women who attended secondary were 1.81 (AOR; 95% CI: 1.12, 2.93) and higher education status 1.91 (AOR: 1.91; 95% CI: 1.1, 3.56) times more likely to get an early postnatal health check than those who attended no formal education. Odds of getting a health check after birth were higher (AOR: 2.14; 95% CI: 1.42, 3.22) when women delivered by cesarean section. Women in Afar (AOR: 0.32; 95% CI: 0.13, 0.78), Oromia (AOR: 0.46; 95% CI: 0.23, 0.91), Somalia (AOR: 0.17; 95% CI: 0.06, 0.48), and Gambela (AOR: 0.24; 95% CI: 0.09, 0.66) had lower odds of getting an early postnatal health checkup as compared to those in Tigray region. Women who reside in the highland or upper highland were less likely to get a health check after birth as compared to those in the desert, AOR (95% CI), 0.32 (0.12, 0.83). Conclusions Postnatal health checks within 2 days after birth were low in Ethiopia. The proportion was not on track as targets of Ethiopia’s HSTP‐II. Educational attainment, wealth status, delivery type, and parity were statistically significantly associated with health check status after birth as individual‐level determinants. Altitude and pastoralist‐dominated or occupied regions were determinants at the community level. Emphasis has to be given by health programmers to women living in pastoralist‐dominated or occupying regions, high‐altitude dwellers, primiparous women, women who have had spontaneous vaginal deliveries, and uneducated women.