Ethiopia
Formative research focused on the high percentage of women who continued to have home births despite engaging with health services at other times. In providing a better understanding of maternal care-seeking behaviour in relation to the socio-cultural environment in Amhara, the study identified and assessed factors that contributed to the low uptake of maternal health services, including issues of gender equity. Findings were utilised by Save the Children and the Ethiopian Ministry of Health to improve maternal health programming, and contributed to the policy and advocacy document ‘An Equal Start: Why Gender Equality Matters for Child Survival and Maternal Health’ and to the State of the World's Midwifery Report 2011.
