Jean Christophe Fotso|Alex Ezeh|Rose Oronje
Provision and Use of Maternal Health Services among Urban Poor Women in Kenya: What Do We Know and What Can We Do?
African Population and Health Research Center|African Population and Health Research Center|African Population and Health Research Center
subsaharan africa unprecedented population growth started second half twentieth century evolved unparalleled urbanization increasing proportion urban dwellers living slums shanty towns making imperative pay greater attention health problems urban poor particular urgent efforts need focus maternal health despite lack reliable trend data maternal mortality investigators believe progress maternal health slow subsaharan africa study uses unique combination health facility individuallevel data collected slums nairobi kenya 1 describe provision obstetric care nairobi informal settlements 2 describe patterns antenatal delivery care notably terms timing frequency quality care 3 draw policy implications aimed improving maternal health among rapidly growing urban poor populations shows study area deprived public health services finding supports view lowincome urban residents developing countries face significant obstacles accessing health care study also shows despite high prevalence antenatal care anc proportion women made recommended number visits initiated visit first trimester pregnancy remains low compared nairobi whole importantly compared rural populations bivariate analyses show household wealth education parity place residence closely associated frequency timing anc place delivery finally strong linkage use antenatal care place delivery findings study call urgent attention kenyas ministry health local authorities void quality health services poor urban communities need provide focused sustained health education geared towards promoting use obstetric services