Household factors associated with use of postnatal care services

Abstract

Background: The postpartum period is one of the most vulnerable and critical periods for both the mother and the newborn. Inadequate care during this period may result in death or disability as well as missed opportunities to promote health behaviours. Aims: To determine the household factors that are associated with use of postnatal care services by mothers. Methods: An electronic search was conducted, including databases such as PubMed, Hinari, Google Scholar, Cochrane library, Science Direct and BioMed Central, using the following search terms: postpartum care, postnatal care, household behaviours, challenges, barriers, use and postpartum women. Findings: All the reviewed articles revealed that postpartum care services were not fully used by postpartum women and household factors played a big role. Background characteristics of women such as age, marital status, parity, level of education and religion were also found to influence uptake. Conclusions: Household factors, such as accessibility; awareness and knowledge; socioeconomic status and financial difficulties; women's empowerment; traditional beliefs and cultural practices and background characteristics have been found to play a significant role in the use of postnatal services by postpartum mothers