DOI: 10.36347/sjams.2014.v02i02.072

Pages: 830-839

Reduction of maternal mortality is a global priority. The key to reducing maternal mortality ratio is increasing attendance by skilled health personnel throughout pregnancy and delivery. However, delivery service is significantly lower in Tigray region. Therefore, this study aimed to assess factors affecting choice of place of child birth among women in Ahferom woreda. A community based cross-sectional study both quantitative and qualitative method was employed among 458 women of age 15-49 years that experienced child birth and pregnancy in Ahferom woreda, Ethiopia. Multi stage stratified sampling technique with Probabilities proportional to size was used to select the study subjects for quantitative and focus group discussions (FGDs) for the qualitative survey. Study subjects again were selected by systematic random sampling technique from randomly selected kebelle’s in the Woreda. Data was collected using structured interview questionnaire and analyzed using SPPS version 16.0. A total of 458 women participated in the quantitative survey. One third of women were age 35 and above, 118(25.8%) were aged between 25-29 years. 247(53.9%) of women were illiterate, and 58.7% of women choice home as place of birth and 41.3% choice health facilities. Women whose husbands illiterate were less likely to choice health facility as place of child birth when compared to women whose husbands were receive secondary education and above[AOR(95%CI).23(.173-.76)]. Regardless of women having health information; women who get health information about the benefit of institutional deliveries increase the probability of choosing health institution 3.6 times higher than those who did not get the information [COR,95% CI 17 (6.9-44.3)],& [AOR,95% CI 3.6 (1.017-12.7)].