BACKGROUND: Delivery in health facilities is a proxy for skilled birth attendance, which is an important intervention to reduce maternal and neonatal mortality. We investigated the determinants of facility based deliveries among women in urban slums of Kampala city, Uganda. METHODS: A cross sectional study using quantitative methods was used. A total of 420 mothers who had delivered in the past one year preceding the survey, were randomly selected and interviewed using a pre-tested interviewer administered questionnaire. Univariate and multivariable logistic regression analysis was done to determine independent predictors of facility based deliveries. RESULTS: Ninety-five percent of respondents attended at least one antenatal care visit and 66.1%delivered in a health facility. Independent predictors of health facility births included exposure to media concerning facility delivery (OR = 2.5, 95% CI = 1.6-3.9), ANC attendance less than 4 times (OR = 0.6, 95% CI = 0.3-0.9) and timing of first ANC visit in the 2 and 3rd trimesters of pregnancy (OR = 0.5 95% CI = 0.3-0.8). CONCLUSION: Despite good physical access, a third of mothers did not deliver in health facilities. Increasing health facility births among the slum dwellers can be improved through interventions geared at increased awareness, starting ANC in early stages of pregnancy and attending at least 4 ANC visits.

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