The determinants of delivery care in Kenya.

This paper examines the determinants of place of delivery and childbirth attendant in Kenya based on the 1993 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey data. The analysis utilizes multilevel logistic and multilevel multinomial regression models for the place of delivery and the type of childbirth attendant, respectively. The results show that delivery care in Kenya is determined by a wide range of factors: socioeconomic and cultural factors associated with the individual woman or her household, her demographic status or reproductive behavior relating to a specific birth, as well as availability and accessibility of health services within her community. In addition, a significant variation in delivery care behavior is observed between women and between communities, implying that there are unobserved factors within families and communities that have a significant effect on delivery care. The woman or family effect on delivery care is particularly strong, but varies by distance to the nearest delivery care facility.