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Postnatal care is defined by the world health organization as care given to the mother and her newborn baby immediately after the third stage of labor and for the first six weeks of life. Being aware of the PNC services delivery from health facilities is crucial to improving uptake of PNC services, thus reducing the likelihood of maternal and neonatal deaths which usually occur during the postpartum period. Therefore, the aims of this study was to assess factors affecting postnatal care utilization among postnatal women in the Dodoma region. A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 420 postnatal women at their 7th to 12th weeks postpartum. A pre-tested and structured questionnaire was used to collect the data. The data was analyzed using SPSS version 26. Logistic regression was applied to identify an association between independent and dependent variables. An adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with a 95% confidence interval and p-value less than 0.05 was applied as a determinant of statistical significance. This study involved 420 participants. The mean (SD) age of the participants was 28 ± 6.204. The proportion of PNC utilization was 32.2%, Knowledge level 39.8% and the overall perception level on postnatal care services utilization was 54%. Based on multivariate analysis, being a secondary education leaver (AOR =4.716, 95% CI : 1.124 – 19.781,P = 0.034), urban resident (AOR = 1.874 ,95% CI : 1.163 – 3.020,P = 0.010), C/Section delivery (AOR = 12.475, 95% CI: 10.795 – 80.753, P = < 0.001), Knowledge on different PNC services (AOR= 15.355, 95% CI : 8.042 – 29.317, P = < 0.001) and perceived benefits (AOR = 5.337, 95% CI : 2.649 – 10.753,P = < 0.001) were factors found to be significantly influence the uptake of PNC services. This study found that the overall utilization of PNC services in Dodoma region is low. Mothers’ education, residence, giving birth by cesarean section, knowledge on PNC services, perceived benefits were significantly influence the postnatal care services utilization. Therefore, In the context of low uptake of PNC services in a rural settings ,programs should direct efforts towards reaching women who do not avail themselves of uptake of PNC service as identified in the study ,However capacity of health system needs to be strengthened both in terms of skilled health attendants and medical supplies , it is also recommended for health care providers and other health stakeholders to strengthen health education about PNC services during antenatal, and schedule the mothers based on the guideline of PNC follow up especially before discharge following birth This is very crucial in improving the uptake of postnatal care services. |
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