CORRELATES OF MATERNAL HEALTH IN RURAL AREAS OF NIGERIA

Poor maternal health in rural areas of Nigeria is one of the signs of major inequity between urban and rural areas in the country. Quantitative data was extracted from the 2008 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey. Four sessions of Focus Group Discussions was conducted to provide additional insights into correlates of maternal health in rural communities. The analysed sample size was 14,315 women. Maternal health was measured by antenatal care, place of delivery, assistance during delivery and postnatal care. Statistical analysis was performed using the Stata data analysis software. Results show that at the most recent live birth; 62.5 percent of the sampled women had less than four antenatal care visits; 22.7 percent had facility delivery; 74.5 percent had unskilled assistance; and 20.9 percent received a postnatal check within two days of delivery. Results further show that: knowledge of any method of contraception significantly influences maternal health status; and women’s control over own healthcare significantly influences maternal health measures (p < 0.01). The study showed that urban rural disparity is a key concern that must be addressed to improve maternal health in Nigeria.