Delivery in a Health Facility
Indicator Phrasing
English: % of women aged 15 - 49 years whose most recent live birth was delivered in a health facility
French: % de femmes âgées de 15 à 49 ans dont leur accouchement le plus récent a eu lieu dans un centre médical
Spanish: % de mujeres de entre 15 y 49 años cuyo último nacimiento vivo se produjo en un centro de salud
Portuguese: % de mulheres entre os 15 e os 49 anos de idade cujo último parto de nado-vivo foi realizado numa unidade de sáude
Czech: % žen ve věku 15 – 49 let, u kterých poslední porod proběhl ve zdravotním středisku
What is its purpose?
The indicator measures the proportion of women aged 15 – 49 with a live birth (i.e. not stillbirth) in the past 2 years whose most recent live birth was delivered in a health facility. Delivering in a health facility reduces the risk of life-threatening complications and death.
How to Collect and Analyse the Required Data
Collect the following data by conducting individual interviews with a representative sample of women aged 15 – 49 who in the past 2 years delivered a live child:
RECOMMENDED SURVEY QUESTIONS (Q) AND POSSIBLE ANSWERS (A)
Q1: Where did you give birth to your youngest child?
A1:
1) at the respondent’s home
2) at other home
3) in the government hospital
4) in the government health centre
5) in a private hospital
6) in a private clinic
7) in other private medical facility
8) other – specify: __________________
To calculate the indicator’s value, divide the number of respondents who delivered at a government or private health facility by the total number of respondents. Multiply the result by 100 to convert it to a percentage.
Disaggregate by
Disaggregate the data by place of delivery (e.g. hospital, health clinic, home), respondent’s location (rural / urban), number of deliveries, and socio-economic characteristics (wealth category, level of education).
Important Comments
1) Use the following two questions to assess whether the respondent is “aged 15 – 49 years and had a live birth in the last 2 years”:
Q: What is your age?
A: specify: ______ / won’t say
Q: In the past two years, did you give birth to a child that was alive when it was born? [note for the enumerator: even if the baby was only alive for several seconds]
A: yes / no / won’t say
2) Always assess also who attended the woman’s delivery – see guidance here.
3) Consider assessing who decided where the delivery will take place by asking: Who made the decision about where to deliver your youngest baby?
4) The set of questions was adapted from UNICEF’s Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) questionnaire.