Birth preparedness and complication readiness among pregnant women in a rural community in southern Nigeria

Background: Birth preparedness and complication readiness (BPACR) has been advocated as a strategy to overcome costly delays in decision making to seek skilled attendance at delivery, which in turn contribute significantly to maternal mortality from obstetric causes.\udObjective: This study assessed the determinants of BPACR among pregnant women in a rural community in Edo State, Nigeria.\udMethod: A descriptive cross-sectional study was done in Anegbette, a rural community in Etsako Central Local Government Area of Edo State. A house-to-house survey was carried out to identify pregnant women and all eligible women in the study area were included in the study. \udResults: A total of 277 pregnant women participated in the study. The mean age of respondents was 28.7±5.8 years. Less than half, 134 (48.4%) of the respondents were well prepared while 143 (51.6%) were poorly prepared. After adjustment for the effect of confounding using binary logistic regression analysis, educational level (OR = 0.653, 95% CI = 0.330 – 0.956), occupation (OR = 0.384, 95% CI = 0,148 – 0.990) and utilization of antenatal care (OR = 3.407, 95% CI = 1.830 – 5.074) were significant predictors of BPACR.\udConclusion: Birth preparedness and complication readiness was poor among women in the rural community. In order to improve maternal health among rural women in Nigeria, government and donor agency funding for safe motherhood programmes should focus on female empowerment and encourage community participation towards promotion of maternal health