Zambia Demographic and Health Survey 2001-2002 - Measure DHS

9.1.2 Delivery and Postnatal CareAnother important component of efforts to reduce the health risks of mothers and children isincreasing the proportion of health facility-based deliveries. Proper medical attendance and hygienicconditions during delivery can reduce the risk of complications and infections and possibly death for boththe mother and/or the baby.For births occurring outside a health facility, the 2001-2002 ZDHS collected information onwhether the mother had seen anyone after the birth to check on her health (Table 9.8). Postnatal checkupsprovide an opportunity to assess and treat delivery complications and to counsel new mothers on how tocare for herself and her child.Delivery careThe 2001-2002 ZDHS obtained information on both the place of delivery and the person assistingwith the delivery. Tables 9.5 and 9.6 present this information for all live births in the five-year periodpreceding the survey.Place of delivery and assistance during delivery are indicators of the quality of care beingprovided. Table 9.5 shows that over half of births occur at home, while 44 percent occur in healthfacilities. Of the births in health facilities, 35 percent occur in public sector facilities and about one in tenoccur in private sector facilities. Women having their first baby are more likely to deliver in healthinstitutions; this proportion declines with increased birth order. Urban residents are three times morelikely to deliver in a health facility than their rural counterparts, the majority of the latter (71 percent)delivering at home. Lusaka and Copperbelt have the highest proportion of institutional deliveries.The higher a woman’s education, the higher the probability that she will deliver in a healthfacility. Almost all women with higher than secondary education deliver in health facilities (97 percent)while only 17 percent of women with no education do so. Additionally, antenatal care attendance has animpact on the proportion of women who deliver in a health facility. Only 7 percent of women who didnot receive antenatal care delivered at a health facility, compared with 53 percent of those with four ormore visits.132 | Maternal and Child Health