The effect of Kenya’s free maternal health care policy on the utilization of health facility delivery services and maternal and neonatal mortality in public health facilities

Background Kenya abolished delivery fees in all public health facilities through a presidential directive effective on June 1, 2013 with an aim of promoting health facility delivery service utilization and reducing pregnancy-related mortality in the country. This paper aims to provide a brief overview of this policy’s effect on health facility delivery service utilization and maternal mortality ratio and neonatal mortality rate in Kenyan public health facilities. Methods A time series analysis was conducted on health facility delivery services utilization, maternal and neonatal mortality 2 years before and after the policy intervention in 77 health facilities across 14 counties in Kenya. Results A statistically significant increase in the number of facility-based deliveries was identified with no significant changes in the ratio of maternal mortality and the rate of neonatal mortality. Conclusion The findings suggest that cost is a deterrent to health facility delivery service utilization in Kenya and thus free delivery services are an important strategy to promote utilization of health facility delivery services; however, there is a need to simultaneously address other factors that contribute to pregnancy-related and neonatal deaths. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12884-018-1708-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.