Reproductive health in urban Nigeria: a quantitative assessment of contextual factors influencing access to ante-natal care and patterns of under-five morbidity among poor and non-poor urban married women

Sunday T. Omoyeni, Obafemi Awolowo University
Adekunbi Omideyi, Obafemi Awolowo University

Past research efforts have been concentrated on explaining disparities in health care services utilization and outcomes between rural and urban dichotomies, without giving adequate attention to the health disadvantages faced by the urban poor women within the context of increasing volume of rural-urban migrants and poor reproductive outcomes in Nigeria. This study, therefore, examined the contextual and social factors influencing maternal and child health outcomes among urban women in Nigeria. The study utilized data on a sample of 3,022 and 3,609 urban poor and non-poor women respectively, from the 2008 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey. Cross tabulations and binary logistic regressions were used to examine possible relationships between selected socio-demographic variables and maternal and child health outcomes. The results revealed the existence of disparities in urban reproductive health outcomes, with urban poor women experiencing higher burden of poor maternal and child health outcomes. About 74% of urban poor women had home deliveries compared to 26% of urban non-poor women. Also, about 61% of urban non-poor women reported at least 4 ante-natal visits relative to 39% of urban poor women. The odds of urban non-poor children experiencing diarrhea (OR=0.87), fever (OR=0.81) and poor immunization (OR=0.45) decrease significantly relative to urban poor. Findings showed that educational level, employment status, age at first birth and ethnicity explained most of the variations in maternal and child health outcomes among urban women. The findings of the study may have implications for giving more attention to meeting urban poor women health needs, with a focus on the factors challenging their access to quality maternal and child health care services.