Printed in Nigeria BARRIERS TO UTILIZATION OF MATERNAL HEALTH CARE FACILITIES AMONG PREGNANT AND NON-PREGNANT WOMEN OF CHILD BEARING AGE IN MAIDUGURI METROPOLITAN COUNCIL (MMC) AND JERE LGAS OF BORNO STATE

Women’s utilization of maternal health care facility is an important health issue with regard to the wellbeing and survival of both the mother and her child during childbirth which has implications on the maternal and child mortality rate in human society. However, in most third world countries and Nigeria in particular there are certain factors that inhibit pregnant and women in patronizing maternal health facilities during childbirth. It is these factors that this paper investigated among pregnant women in the two Local Government Areas of Borno State. The methods of data collection adopted in the study were the survey methods: Seventy eight (78) questionnaires were administered; six (6) in-depth interviews and four sessions of focus-group discussion (three sessions in each of the 2 LG Areas) were conducted. KEY CONCEPTS: Barriers, Utilization, Maternal Health Care Clinic INTRODUCTION The demand for and utilization of maternal health services depends on numerous factors, many beyond a woman’s direct control, including the physical accessibility of facilities to her home; direct and indirect costs of obtaining services including not only fees for medication, transportation, feeding and accommodation charges but also the convenience of opening hours and average waiting times, the extent to which staff are competent, providing quality care and demonstrating cultural sensitivity to her needs, and the availability of other needed key health care inputs including essential drugs and food supplements (Lashman, 2006). In addition to these service quality factors and access to the facility has been adversely affected by the introduction of cost recovery schemes, including user fees for antenatal and delivery services in most states of the country. The impact of these fees on service utilization is particularly severe among the poor and vulnerable groups, who have resorted to the use of traditional medical practitioners and spiritual healers as alternative providers of health care (El-Sefly, 2001 and Mairiga (2003)). Utilization is the way and manner in which people use or utilize a particular thing(s), product(s) or service(s) because of the belief that it is important or serves a very vital functional and significant role in their well being, society at large, and the very survival of the human race. In this study, it means the way and manner in which married women of child bearing age pregnant women and nursing mothers patronize Maternal Health Care clinic due to the belief and acceptance of the advantages and importance associated with the use of the facility. Some of the issues considered in determining or measuring utilization of the MHC facility in this study include; use of antenatal care, rate of attendance(frequency or rate of visits) delivery assisted by a trained medical personnel (doctor or nurse/nurse-midwife), and use of postnatal care services. Another issues taken into considerations are reason(s) for not attending antenatal and postnatal care (distance, convenience, opportunity cost (economic reason), and socio-cultural barriers). There is some evidence that these barriers are at least as important in determining access to services as the quality, volume, and price of services delivered by health care providers. Maternal Health Care clinic is defined in functional term, as a comprehensive maternal health care facility that covers the promotional, preventive and treatment services required by families in order that mothers (during and between maternal cycles) and their children may be kept well or if acutely or chronically ill or handicapped or