Maternity Care Fragmentation and Maternal Satisfaction among Mothers Attending Care in A Secondary Health Facility in Lagos, Nigeria

Background Fragmentation of maternal care (FMC) in Nigeria disrupts care continuity, leading to inefficiencies, communication gaps, and suboptimal maternal health outcomes. Objective We assessed the prevalence and extent of FMC and its effects on maternal satisfaction among mothers attending clinics at a secondary healthcare facility in Lagos, Nigeria. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted among mothers attending postnatal and immunisation clinics at Orile-Agege General Hospital, Lagos. Data were collected through an interviewer-administered semi-structured questionnaire. Provider fragmentation was assessed using the Fragmentation of Care Index (FCI), while maternal satisfaction was measured using a validated 14-item satisfaction scale. Bivariate and multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to explore the association between FMC and maternal satisfaction. Results Of the 212 participants, 88.2% experienced fragmentation of care. Factors such as parity ( p  = 0.006) and the number of antenatal care (ANC) visits ( p  = 0.002) were significantly associated with care fragmentation. We reported a nonsignificant independent association between levels of care fragmentation and maternal satisfaction. Conclusion Although FMC was highly prevalent, it was not significantly associated with maternal satisfaction in this study. These findings suggest that interventions to improve satisfaction should not only focus on promoting continuity of care but also improving early access to services and the quality of provider-patient interactions. We recommend that future studies explore the qualitative dimensions of maternity care fragmentation and satisfaction, including patient expectations, perceptions of quality, and cultural norms around care-seeking behaviour.