Research report on maternal health service utilization among mothers during COVID-19 pandemic in Malangwa municipality Sarlahi district.

Thesis Report.

ABSTRACT:

Maternal health is one of the most critical health indicators, and it indicates the overall health status of a country. ANC, institutional delivery and PNC have been core components of Maternal health services. Implementation of various programs and guidelines has helped improve the utilization of maternal health services worldwide. Before the outbreak of Coronavirus, maternal health service utilization was on an increasing trend globally. However, after the outbreak, many studies proved that utilization of maternal health services has been affected and is in a declining trend.
This research had been done to assess the utilization of maternal health services among mothers who had given birth during the Covid -19 Pandemic in Malangwa Municipality of Sarlahi district. The research assessed the knowledge and status of utilization and determined the factors that affected the utilization of maternal health services during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This descriptive cross-sectional research study was done in Malangwa Municipality of Sarlahi districts among 423 mothers who gave birth during the coronavirus pandemic from March 2020 to data collection. A multistage sampling technique was used, and a structured questionnaire was used for data collection. The collected data was entered and analyzed with the help of epi data version 3.1 and IBM SPSS version 25. Extensive literature reviews and constant guidance from the supervisor were valid, and pretesting ensured the reliability of the study. Mothers who had stillbirths were excluded from the study.
The study results show that 92.1 % of the respondents knew about antenatal care, and 95.98% utilized the services. About 70.44 % knew institutional delivery, and 69.26% of the respondents had institution delivery. About 47.75 % of the respondent knew about postnatal care 57.4% utilized PNC services. The religion of respondent, age at marriage of respondent, age at marriage of respondents spouse, age at first pregnancy, education of respondent and education of spouse are the factors associated significantly with the utilization of Maternal Health Services.