Pregnancy in Peril: The impact of conflict on antenatal care and skilled birth attendant utilization in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Burundi
Abstract
As of 2019, over two billion people globally reside in conflict-affected areas, and as a result, face negative health implications. Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo are among those countries classified as fragile and conflict-affected situations, resulting in disproportionally high maternal mortality rates. Grounded in Andersen’s Model of Healthcare Utilization, this thesis employed multivariate binary logistic regressions to examine factors which influence antenatal care and skilled birth attendant usage in these two countries. Findings indicate that women living in high conflict regions were significantly less likely than those in low conflict regions to have their first antenatal care visit within the first trimester, have four antenatal care visits, and meet the World Health Organization’s recommendations for care during pregnancy. This thesis elucidates the significant impact of conflict on antenatal care and skilled birth attendant usage and urges context-specific policy recommendations within fragile and conflict-affected situations to reduce maternal mortality.