Supplier induced demand : A case study of caesarian delivery in private and private and public hospitals in Nairobi

Abstract

The study investigated supplier-induced demand for caesarian birth, relying on household and hospital data. A household survey was carried out in Nairobi city in which 189 women who had delivered during the last 10 years were interviewed. A binary logit model to explain the probability of caesarian birth was estimated. The model was used to analyze women's choice of facilities for maternity care. The main finding is that probability of a caesarian birth rises as a woman's income increases and with the amount paid for a caesarian delivery. In contrast, the probability of a caesarian declines with distance to the nearest health facility and with the cost of the visit to the facility. Results suggest that there should be increase accessibility to maternity care facility and regulate costs of antenatal visits to encourage delivery at modem health facilities. There is also need to regulate cost of caesarian births to discourage unnecessary caesarians .