A qualitative exploration of factors influencing site of delivery (home, public or private hospital) in three North Karnataka districts as described by pregnant women, mothers of neonates, husbands and grandmothers

Introduction The National Rural Health Mission (NHRM) aims to increase the uptake of safe institutional delivery among rural communities in Karnataka. Previous studies in India have found that while there has been increasing numbers of institutional deliveries, those who had lower socio-economic status, were from scheduled caste (SC), or had less education or media exposure were less likely to use hospitals for delivery. A few studies on quality of care consistently found a more positive perception and experience at private hospitals. The purpose of this study was to explore the factors influencing choice of birthing site, specifically home, public and private hospitals, and the decision-making processes involved in the choice, in North Karnataka.