Healthcare Seeking Behavior and Utilization of Maternal Healthcare Services among Women of Reproductive Age in Northwest, Nigeria

Abstract

Maternal health outcomes and indicators in Northwest, Nigeria are some of the worst in the world, with many women and girls losing their lives or becoming incapacitated as a result of pregnancy and childbirth complications. Maternal morbidities and mortalities are preventable with the availability and regular utilization of functional maternal healthcare services. As one of the major determinants of the utilization of maternal healthcare services, maternal health seeking behavior goes beyond individual decision, but a complexity of socio-cultural and economic factors determining women’s utilization of such services in the Northwest. Relying on literature on the health seeking behavior of women in the region, this paper offers theoretical and contextual explanations for women’s low utilization of maternal healthcare services in the region. The Northwest region is a predominantly Hausa and Muslim society, with a culture that is entwined and guided by the Islamic injunctions. Lack of autonomy in decision making, high adherence to cultural belief and practices, illiteracy, distance and poor access to maternal healthcare services are among the major factors impeding utilization of maternal healthcare services among women in the region.
The paper thus, recommends that, in addition to making education more accessible to lactating women, interventions towards increasing utilization of maternal healthcare services must inevitably target husbands, being the key actor in determining healthcare seeking behavior within the households.