Determinants of maternal health care demand in Rwanda

Abstract

Maternal healthcare services are crucial for the reduction of maternal mortality. Utilization of these services has been evolving overtime in Rwanda but it is not sufficient. Furthermore, there is a lack of information on the factors that influence the demand for these services. This study investigates the determinants for demand of maternal healthcare in Rwanda using 2005 Rwanda Demographic and Health Survey data. The determinants for antenatal care visits, the timing of first antenatal care check-up and delivery care are analyzed using multinomial logit model whereas a probit model is used for postnatal care utilization. Results show that education of wife and husband, income, medical insurance, age and living in urban areas influence positively the utilization of maternal health care services whereas, being a working mother and birth order hampers it. However, the demand function estimated is incomplete function due to data limitation on availability and quality of services, access and costs of healthcare.