Pregnancy intention status and maternal health care utilization in Zimbabwe

Tanyaradzwa N. Dube, University of the Witwatersrand
Sunday A. Adedini, Obafemi Awolowo University and University of the Witwatersrand

Maternal mortality is alarming in Zimbabwe with a maternal mortality ratio of 960 deaths per 100000 live births. Similarly, unintended pregnancies which are a public health concern in Zimbabwe are stigmatized and thus receive less support from families and health care providers. Hence, we hypothesize that women having unwanted pregnancies are likely to have low utilization of maternal health care services, due to stigma and lack of supports exhibited towards unwanted pregnancies in Zimbabwe. The study examined the association between pregnancy intention status and maternal health care utilization in Zimbabwe. Cross- sectional data from 2010/11 Zimbabwean Demographic and Health Survey comprising of 3,985 women who gave births 5 years prior to the survey was analysed using binary logistic regression. Results showed that women who had mistimed and never wanted pregnancies were 0.33 and 0.36 times respectively less likely to have 4 antenatal care visits or more relative to women who had wanted births.