Delivery in a Health Facility

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.

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 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).

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.