Factors Associated with Health Facility Delivery in the 12 District of Kandahar City, Kandahar, Afghanistan: A community-Based Cross-Sectional Study.

BACKGROUND

Maternal mortality and morbidity are increasing public health concerns in Afghanistan. Even more worrying is maternal death due to causes that can be prevented through maternal healthcare services utilization during pregnancy and delivery.

OBJECTIVES

We sought to investigate the magnitude of women giving birth in a health facility and its associated factors in the 12 district of Kandahar city, Kandahar province, Afghanistan.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A community-based cross-sectional study of women who gave birth in the last 2 years in the 12 district of Kandahar city was conducted in early 2021. We used a systematic random sampling method to enroll 850 women. We collected data on sociodemographics, reproductive characteristics, and delivery practices of respondents. Factors associated with health facility delivery were identified using a multivariable logistic regression model.

RESULTS

The proportion of women who gave birth at health facilities was 71.8% (confidence interval [CI]; 68.61%-74.77%). In this study, health facility delivery was associated with husbands' education (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 3.07, 95% CI: 1.50-6.31), antenatal care (ANC) services utilization (AOR = 17.84, 95% CI: 11.86-26.8), and history of complications in previous births (AOR = 3.65, 95% CI: 2.32-5.74).

CONCLUSION

In this study, the utilization of a health facility for delivery was slightly lower than reported on the national level. Our study found potential factors such as ANC visits, husbands' education, and history of complications in previous births, for which interventions aimed at enhancing the proportion of health facility deliveries.