Determinants of pregnancy outcomes among rural women in Nigeria

It is evident that rural women, due to their lower socioeconomic status and the reduced presence of standard healthcare facilities for pregnancy and childbirth, are at higher risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes than their urban counterparts. This study examined the determinants of pregnancy outcomes among rural women in Nigeria. Quantitative secondary data were obtained from the women’s dataset of the 2013 NDHS with 1,096 eligible respondents. Data were analyzed at univariate, bivariate and multivariate levels with frequencies, chi square test and binary logistic regression respectively. At the bivariate level of analysis, age, marital status and number of ANC visits were significantly related to pregnancy termination (p<0.05), while educational status, religion, the region of residence, wealth status, maternal parity and the place of delivery had no significant relationship with pregnancy termination (p>0.05). Also, education, the region of residence, wealth status, the number of ANC visits, and the place of delivery had a significant relationship with birth weight (p<0.05), while age, marital status, religion, and maternal parity had no relationship with birth weight (p>0.05). At the multivariate level, it was discovered that maternal age, wealth status, the region of residence, and antenatal care use were significant predictors of pregnancy termination (p<0.05) while maternal age, region of residence, wealth status, antenatal care use and place of delivery predicted birth weight (p<0.05). It is recommended that efforts be made to improve rural women’s socio-economic status, as well as further encourage the use of antenatal services and skilled attendance at birth to ensure positive birth outcomes and reduction in maternal and child mortality.