The effect of maternity waiting homes utilization on institutional delivery in the islands area: evidence from Indonesia

Early Abstract:

Background: Ensuring access to health services, including maternity services, is challenging for the island region. Local governments in Indonesia are trying to minimize this situation by providing maternity waiting homes. This study aimed to examine the utilization of maternity waiting homes and its effect on institutional delivery in Indonesia’s island areas.
Methods: The secondary analysis used the 2023 Indonesian Health Survey data in the Maluku Province, one of Indonesia’s island areas. It included 1,372 participants who gave birth within the past five years. We looked at nine control variables and factors related to institutional delivery and maternity waiting homes: type of residence, age, marital status, education, work, wealth, insurance, antenatal care (ANC), and parity. In the last part of the study, binary logistic regression was used.
Results: The results showed that only 6.8% of women in Indonesia's Maluku Province use maternity waiting homes. Meanwhile, 46.1% give birth in an institution. Based on the utilization of maternity waiting homes, women who utilize them were 2.756 times more likely than those without to deliver in an institutional setting (AOR 2.756; 95% CI 2.625-2.894). Moreover, the study found seven control factors were related to institutional delivery: the type of residence, age group, education level, employment status, wealth status, health insurance ownership, and parity.
Conclusions: The study concluded that maternity waiting home utilization was related to institutional delivery in Indonesia’s Maluku Province. The utilization of maternity waiting homes could increase the possibility of institutional delivery.
Keywords: maternity waiting home, institutional delivery, maternal health, public health.