CORRELATES OF ANTENATAL AND DELIVERY CARE IN GHANA

Provision and improvement in maternal health services is of critical concern for all governments all over the world particularly those in low to middle-income countries. This led the global community to adopt the United Nations Millennium Development Goal 5 target of reducing by three-quarters the maternal mortality ratio between 1990 and 2015 (United Nations, 2010) so as to improve the well being of women. Crucial to this is access to quality maternal health care including antenatal and skilled attendance at delivery. However, an assessment of the extent of progress towards the achievement of this goal particularly in Ghana still remains a challenge. High maternal mortality ratio is estimated to range from 214 to 800 per 100,000 live births. There are also growing social inequalities with rates of skilled attendance either stagnating or declining for poorer women (Witter et al., 2007). Overall, the proportions of deliveries at health facilities rose from 46 percent in 2003 to 57 percent in 2008 according to the 2008 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey (GDHS) which is far less than the expected universal coverage of skilled attendance at birth. The main objective of this study was to examine the correlates of antenatal and delivery care in Ghana. The 2008 GDHS was the main source of data. Binary logistic regression analysis was used to construct models that explored the socio-demographic correlates of antenatal and delivery care in Ghana. The results indicate among other things that age, household wealth, education, and insurance coverage are among the socio-demographic correlates of antenatal and delivery care in Ghana. It emerged from the study that women who had complete antenatal care services were also more likely to deliver in a health facility. The study, therefore, concludes that when more pregnant women are sensitized to patronize antenatal care services to the fullest, they are most likely to deliver in a health facility and hopefully by a professionally trained health worker, thereby reducing maternal mortality.