Zambia Demographic and Health Survey 2001-2002 - Measure DHS

MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTH9Miriam Chipimo, Elizabeth Mulamfu, Martha Mulenga, and Arlinda ZhuzhuniThis chapter presents findings from several areas of importance to maternal and child healthincluding information on antenatal, delivery and postnatal care, children’s vaccinations, and commonchildhood illnesses and their treatment.9.1 MATERNITY CAREEarly and regular checkups by health professionals are very important in assessing the physicalstatus of women during pregnancy and ensuring delivery of appropriate interventions. The 2001-2002ZDHS obtained information from women on both coverage of antenatal care and of key elements of thecare received for the last birth during the five-year period before the survey.9.1.1 Antenatal CareAntenatal care coverageTable 9.1 shows the proportion of women who had a live birth in the five years preceding thesurvey by the source of antenatal care for the most recent birth. In obtaining the information on source,interviewers recorded all persons a woman had seen for antenatal care. However, for cases where morethan one person was seen, only the provider with the highest qualifications was recorded. Table 9.1 showsthat 93 percent received antenatal care from medical personnel and 2 percent from traditional birthattendantsThere is little variation in the distribution of antenatal care according to the birth order. Urbanresidents are more likely to receive antenatal care from doctors (5 percent) than rural residents(1 percent), but over 80 percent of urban and rural residents see midwives. Traditional birth attendantsprovide antenatal care to less than 1 percent of urban residents compared with 3 percent of rural residents.There are few regional variations in obtaining antenatal care, with Lusaka and Copperbeltrecording a higher proportion (4 percent and 7 percent, respectively) of attendances by doctors,respectively, compared with less than 1 percent in Luapula, Northern, Eastern, North-Western, andSouthern. In comparison to the other provinces, Central, Northern, Western, and North-Western have ahigher percentage of women who did not get any antenatal care.Women’s education is strongly associated with antenatal attendance. With a higher level ofeducation, the choice of provider shifts to a higher qualification. Those with higher than secondaryeducation have the highest antenatal attendance from medically trained providers (100 percent) comparedto those with no education (84 percent) . Thirteen percent of women with higher education saw a doctorfor antenatal care compared with less than 1 percent for those with no education. None of the womenwith higher than secondary education reported having been attended to by traditional birth attendantscompared with 6 percent of those with no education.Maternal and Child Health | 127