Why some women deliver in health institutions and others do not: a cross sectional study of married women in Ghana, 2008

Marian Bannerman, University of Ghana
Emmanuel O. Tawiah, University of Ghana
Delali M. Badasu, University of Ghana

Existing inequalities in an environment where men wield so much authority can have negative implications for women’s reproductive health outcomes. Using the 2008 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey, this study explores the relationship between some selected socio-economic variables, three dimensions of women’s status (perception against violence, reproductive right and decision making ability) and choice of place of delivery. All three indicators of status were significantly associated with whether or not a woman will have an institutional delivery. This association however, diminished after controlling for confounding variables. Wealth status and educational attainment of the women and their spouses emerged as significant predictors of choice of place of delivery. Another key finding was that the effects of the three dimensions of status did not act independently to affect the choice of place of delivery but that their effects are channelled through these socio-economic variables.