Level of utilization of skilled delivery service by pregnant women at the health facilities in Ghana

Background: About 99% of maternal mortality (MM) occurs in developing regions particularly Africa and Asia, during labor, birth and the 24 hours after birth. However, about 88% – 98% of these deaths are avoidable. World health organization (WHO) recommended that every pregnant woman must use Skilled Delivery Service (SDS) during labourreduce maternal and neonatal mortality. SDS are services provided to women during pregnancy, childbirth and immediately after child birth by accredited and competent health care providers. The purpose of this study was to assess the level of utilization of SDS by Pregnant Women at the health facilities in Central Region of Ghana. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional design was used to conduct the study. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to sample 1100 pregnant women. Structured questionnaire was used to collect the data after pretesting was done and the collected data were analysed using frequencies and percentages. Results: The results showed that majority (80%)of the pregnant women had the intention to use SDS during labour. Among women who had given birth before, during their last delivery, about 69% used SDS at health facilities in Central Region of Ghana. Conclusion: In conclusion, Central Region is doing better than the national coverage of 56% but it is worth emphasizing that more need to be done to achieve the global target of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 3.1 and 3.2. As a result, the governments through the Ghana Health Service (GHS) must implement strategic interventions that will motivate every pregnant woman in the country to use SDS.