Abstract
BACKGROUND: Many childbearing women in sub-Saharan African countries like Guinea still face challenges accessing and utilizing health facility delivery services and opt to deliver at home. This study examined the non-utilization of health facility delivery and its associated factors among childbearing women in Guinea. METHODS: Data from the 2018 Guinea Demographic and Health Survey was used in this study. Data of 5406 childbearing women were analysed using STATA version 14.2 by employing a multilevel logistic regression approach. The results were presented using adjusted odds ratios (aOR) at 95% confidence interval (CI). RESULTS: More than three-quarters (47.6%) of childbearing women in Guinea did not deliver at health facilities. Women who had no formal education (aOR = 1.52, 95% CI = 1.09-2.12), those whose partners had no formal education (aOR = 1.25, 95% CI =1.01-1.56), those whose pregnancies were unintended (aOR = 1.40, 95% CI =1.13-1.74) and those who were Muslims (aOR = 2.87, 95% CI =1.17-7.08) were more likely to deliver at home. Furthermore, women with parity four or more (aOR = 1.78, 95% CI =1.34-2.37), those who listened to radio less than once a week (aOR = 5.05, 95% CI =1.83-13.89), those who never watched television (aOR = 1.46, 95% CI =1.12-1.91), those with poorest wealth quintile (aOR = 4.29, 95% CI =2.79-6.60), women in female-headed households (aOR = 1.38, 95% CI =1.08-1.78) and rural dwellers (aOR = 3.86, 95% CI =2.66-5.60) were more likely to deliver at home. CONCLUSION: This study has identified low socio-economic status, inadequate exposure to media, having an unplanned pregnancy and religious disparities as key predictors of home delivery among childbearing women in Guinea. The findings call for the need to enhance advocacy and educational strategies like focus group discussions, peer teaching, mentor-mentee programmes at both national and community levels for women to encourage health facility delivery. There is also the need to improve maternal healthcare services utilization policies to promote access to health facility delivery by reducing costs and making health facilities available in communities.