Perceived determinants of home delivery following antenatal care in general hospital Ikara, Ikara Local Government Area, Kaduna State

The study  aim to determine the factors that make women deliver at home after attending antenatal care, to determine the awareness of women on risks associated with home delivery, to determine the type of birth attendants’ available during home delivery, and to explore the opinions of women on various strategies to prevent home delivery. A non- experimental cross-sectional design was used, with a target population of 960 people and systematic random sampling technique was employed to select the sample of 132 subjects out of the target population. Participation was voluntary and the principle of informed consent was ensured. Questionnaire was used as an instrument for data collection but only 121 were retrieved and analyzed, using SPSS Version 23. The findings of the study revealed that, women deliver at home due to cost of hospital services, male attendant during delivery, distance of the health facility from their home, poor attitude of health care provider and fear of surgical procedure. Also, according to the findings, the strategies of preventing home delivery includes provision of free maternal and child services, good health care provider attitude, health education on danger associated with home delivery, and adequate man power. In conclusion, majority of respondents were aware on factors that make them deliver at home. Recommendations were made that, health services should be subsidized and made available to women of child bearing ages and health education as well as improvement of community awareness on the importance of institutional delivery should be planned and implemented.\r\n\r\n\tKey words: Determinants, home-delivery, antenatal care.