ABSTRACT

The study provided an empirical evidence on effect of access and utilization of maternal health care services on arable crop production of rural women in south-east Nigeria. A multi-stage sampling procedure and purposive sampling technique were employed to select 360 rural farmers. Primary data were collected using structured questionnaire. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics such as frequency, percentage, mean count, and standard deviation while inferential statistics such as OLS regression, simple linear regression, and ANOVA models was employed in testing the hypotheses for the study. The major result showed pooled grand mean of 3.04 affirmed that the respondent had high access to maternal health care services. A pooled grand mean of 3.13 indicating that rural women highly utilized maternal health care services. The results also showed a pooled grand mean of 3.53 indicating that the rural women affirmed that access to maternal health care services had positive effect. The result showed that the pooled grand mean of 3.03 indicating that the rural women affirmed that use of maternal health care services had effect. Furthermore, result showed that the key constraints of the respondents in accessing and utilizing maternal health care services in Southeast were inadequate human resources/health personnel (86.7%), poor information on Primary Health Care Services (86.4%), poor road infrastructure to facilitate access (83.9%), level of education of the women (80.3%), affordability of Healthcare Services (76.1%), the attitude of health care personnel (74.2%), inaccessibility and unavailability of health- care facilities (64.4%),location of the primary health care is far (56.4%), and cultural background of the woman (50.6%). Multiple regression estimates of relationship between selected socio-economic factors of the rural women and their access to maternal health care services revealed that age, marital status, level of education at, and monthly income were statistically significant. Multiple regression estimates of relationship between selected Socio-economic factors of the rural women and their use of maternal health care services revealed that marital status, household size , level of education , monthly income  and distance to health centre. Simple linear regression on influence of access to MHCS on agricultural production among rural women was statistically significant and null hypothesis rejected. Duncan’s New Multiple Range Test (DNMRT) analysis revealed no significant difference in the access to maternal health care services across the states in South-East. Simple linear regression estimate of the effect of extent of utilization of maternal health care services on agricultural production of rural women was statistically significant. The study concluded that the rural women had high access and utilization of maternal health care services in southeast, Nigeria which led to increase in arable crop production and income of rural women. The study, therefore, recommends reduction in the cost of services and improving on the quality of maternal health care services especially for the poor and rural dwellers and also the empowerment of women are pre-requisites for any tangible improvement in the access and utilization of maternal healthcare in Nigeria.