Regional variations in the use of postnatal care in Nigeria: a spatial analysis

Dorothy N. Ononokpono, University of Uyo
Ezra Gayawan, Redeemer's University
Sunday A. Adedini, Obafemi Awolowo University and University of the Witwatersrand

Most studies on maternal health have failed to take into consideration the presence of a relationship between different geographical observations of postnatal care (PNC). This paper examines regional variations in the use of postnatal care in Nigeria using data from the 2008 and 2013 Nigeria Demographic and Health Surveys (NDHS). Analysis was based on women aged 15-49 years who had most recent birth in the five years before the survey. We used Bayesian binary logistic regression model to determine the spatial variations in the use of PNC. The spatial structure was modelled using conditional autoregressive prior. Preliminary results show substantial variations in the use of PNC across the regions. Further, we found the effects of mother's age at birth to be nonlinear. The findings suggest that the use of postnatal care services varies with location indicating the need to improve maternal health care services in disadvantaged states of Nigeria.