Women's Economic Status and Maternal Healthcare Service Utilisation Evidence Across Antenatal, Skilled Birth Attendance and Postnatal Care

Antenatal care (ANC), skilled birth attendance (SBA) and postnatal care (PNC) are core maternal health services proven to reduce maternal mortality. Among the factors influencing their utilization, women's economic status remains a critical determinant, as financial autonomy shapes access to and affordability of care. Understanding how economic status affects service uptake is essential for designing pro-poor strategies and policies to improve coverage and reduce maternal deaths. This study therefore examined the effect of women's economic status on maternal healthcare utilization in Rivers State, Nigeria. This is a cross-sectional survey conducted among 600 married women who have had a birth at least one year preceding the survey. Data were collected via multistage sampling technique with a semi-structured questionnaire, and were analysed using descriptive, Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression. The findings revealed a significant and consistent association between women's economic status and maternal healthcare utilization. Women with high economic status were more likely to utilise antenatal care (AOR = 1.86; 95% CI: 1.28-2.71), skilled birth attendance (AOR = 2.12; 95% CI: 1.50-3.00), and postnatal care (AOR = 1.73; 95% CI: 1.25-2.38). Overall, this study showed that women's economic status confirmed a consistent dose-response across the continuum. Improving maternal healthcare utilisation requires strengthening women’s economic capacity through women’s livelihood support and education. Programs that enhance women’s control over household financial resources are also essential in promoting better health-seeking behaviour. We therefore recommend that integrating financial autonomy, asset ownership and income-generating interventions into maternal health strategies is important to improve continuum of care.