Mix of Maternity Care Providers in Canada.

OBJECTIVE To identify the factors influencing women's choice of maternity care providers in Canada. METHOD Using the Maternity Experience Survey and a multinomial logit model, this paper examined the influence of various socio-economic and demographic factors on the mix of maternity care providers, while controlling for maternal risk profiles. Additionally, provinces were interacted with maternal age to assess the extent to which regional variations in mix of maternity care providers is influenced by pregnant women's needs. RESULTS Besides maternal risk factors, province of prenatal care and the place of residence were found to be statistically significant determinants of choice of maternity care providers. Analysis involving interaction terms indicated wide regional variations in the mix of providers by maternal age. CONCLUSIONS The results suggest a wide provincial variation in the mix of maternity care providers. New provincial government initiatives are needed to enhance the supply and capacity of care providers.