Bypassing primary care facilities for childbirth: a population-based study in rural Tanzania

In an effort to reduce maternal mortality, developing countries have been investing in village-level primary care facilities to bring skilled delivery services closer to women. We explored the extent to which women in rural western Tanzania bypass their nearest primary care facilities to deliver at more distant health facilities, using a population-representative survey of households (N = 1204). Using a standardized instrument, we asked women who had a delivery within 5 years about the place of their most recent delivery. Information on all functioning health facilities in the area were obtained from the district health office. Women who delivered in a health facility that was not the nearest available facility were considered bypassers. Forty-four per cent (186/423) of women who delivered in a health facility bypassed their nearest facility. In adjusted analysis, women who bypassed were more likely than women who did not bypass to be 35 or older (OR 2.5, P