Prevalence and Predictors of Postpartum Care Uptake Among Mothers Who Gave Birth in the Last Six Months in Mertule Mariam District Northwest Ethiopia

Background: In the majority of home and hospital based births, postpartum care is not delivered adequately and are highly limited in Ethiopia in terms of coverage and frequency with which the service should be provided. Objective: The aim of the study was to assess the prevalence and predictors of postpartum care uptake among mothers who gave birth in the last six months in Mertule Mariam District, Northwest Ethiopia. Methods and Materials: A Community based descriptive cross sectional study design was carried out through a cluster sampling method with a total sample size of 565 from January 30 to February 8, 2018. Structured interviewer administered pre-tested questionnaire was used to collect data. The collected data was entered into Epi data version 4.2 and then exported into SPSS window version 24. Bivariate and multivariate analysis were undertaken and information was presented by using simple frequency tables, graphs and pie charts. Result: The prevalence of postpartum care uptake was found to be 19% (95% CI: 15.2, 21.9). Fifty one percent of mothers reported that the main reason for not using postpartum care was an absence of any complication. Knowledge about postpartum care (AOR=6.35, 95% CI: 3.41, 11.82), having four or more antenatal care checkups (AOR=8.59, 95% CI: 4.59, 14.58), experiencing complications in the last delivery (AOR=4.89, 95% CI: 2.52, 9.49) and receiving health information after delivery (AOR=3.57, 95% CI: 1.69, 7.53) were found to be statistically associated with postpartum care uptake. Conclusion: This study revealed that postpartum care rates in this community was very low. Hence, there is an urgent need to assess the quality of Postpartum care (PPC) provided and a need for knowledge and ANC raising program focusing on the schedule.