Background: In China, with the urbanization, women migrated from rural to big cities presented much higher maternal mortality rates than local residents. Health knowledge is one of the key factors enabling women to be aware of their rights and health status in order to seek appropriate health services. This study aims to assess the knowledge and attitude on maternal health care and the contributing factors to being knowledgeable among rural-to-urban migrant women in Shanghai. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in a district center hospital in Shanghai where migrants gathered. Totally 475 rural-to-urban migrant pregnant women were interviewed and completed the self-administered questionnaire after obtaining informed consent. Results: The mean score of knowledge on maternal health care was 8.28 out of 12. However, only 36.6% women had attended the required 5 antenatal checks, and 58.3% of the subjects thought financial constrains being the main reason for not attending antenatal care. It was found that higher level of education (OR = 3.3, 95%CI: 1.8-3.8), husbands' Shanghai residence (OR = 4.0, 95%CI: 1.3-12.1) and better family income (OR = 3.3, 95%CI: 1.4-8.2) were associated with better knowledge. Conclusions: Rural-to-urban migrant women's unawareness of maternal health service, together with their vulnerable living status, influences their utilization of maternal health care. Tailored maternal health education and accessible services are in demands for this population. © 2009 Zhao et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

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urban population maternal care China educational status prenatal care risk pregnancy complication Pregnancy Complications human Odds Ratio statistics rural population health service Confidence Intervals controlled study health status Cross-Sectional Studies Confidence interval Young Adult migrant worker cross-sectional study Humans income urban rural difference female Socioeconomic Factors socioeconomics questionnaire pregnancy medical information Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice women's health Article health care utilization Questionnaires adult health education migration health care access Utilization Review patient attitude maternal welfare pregnant woman Patient Acceptance of Health Care Transients and Migrants Maternal Health Services attitude to health health care need