Multilevel analysis of place of delivery among reproductive age women in Ethiopia

The place where the mother gives birth majorly affects the birth outcome and the mother's well‐being; this is because most maternal mortality, morbidity, and neonatal death occur during the time of labor and delivery and immediately after birth. This study was aimed to identify factors associated with the place of delivery among reproductive age women.Secondary analysis was done using the 2019 Mini Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey data. A multi‐stage sampling technique was used to select a total of 5527 weighted representative samples of women to include in the analysis. To identify factors associated with the place of delivery, a multilevel mixed effect binary logistic regression model was fitted to consider the hierarchical nature of the data. Statistical significance was declared at p‐value < 0.05.This study found that women aged 35 to 49 years, mothers with primary and secondary and above, educational status, and women from households with higher wealth index, and participants who had at least one antenatal care visit had higher odds of giving birth in a health facility. Women with two and three and more birth order, who live in rural areas, and women living in communities with higher poverty levels have lower odds of institutional delivery.Increased maternal age, increased maternal educational status, having at least one antenatal care visit, women's household wealth index, increased birth order, rural residence, and higher community poverty level were found to be factors that significantly associated with the place of delivery. Hence, Ethiopia's Federal Minister of Health and another stakeholders should amplify their efforts to increase the accessibility and availability of healthcare facilities and quality maternal health service delivery.