Objective: The objective of this paper is to report birth preparedness and place of birth and its determinants among recent- and settled- migrant households living in slums of Delhi. Methods: In a cross-sectional survey, 458 migrant mothers with a child aged below one year of age were identified. Socio-demographic details, data on the place of childbirth, antenatal care (ANC) and birth preparedness in terms of planning for home birth or hospital birth, transport, saving money, knowledge of danger signs were collected through interviewer-administered pretested questionnaire. Logistic regression was carried out for the determinants of hospital birth. Results: The present study migrants are characterised by younger ages, low educational attainment, low incomes and represented by socioeconomically disadvantaged communities. They mainly relied on government healthcare services for maternal care. ANC seeking was not satisfactory with 16% of women with no ANC; 46% receiving 1–3 visits; and only 23% of women reported health worker visited them at home. 59% of the births took place at hospitals. Having ANC visits (Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) for having 4 or more ANC visits = 5.252), planning for hospital birth (AOR = 6.114), plan for transport (AOR = 1.989), mass media exposure (listening to radio; AOR = 2.871) and knowledge of danger signs (AOR = 3.872) resulted in significant chances of hospital birth. Conclusion: Migrant women are at the risk of utilizing the services to a less extent. The health systems need to take measures to mitigate the disadvantage due to migration through specific strategies to make them inclusive and outreach to the poor migrants. © 2018 Elsevier B.V.

Urban poor Hospital birth Migrants maternal health Antenatal care

maternal care educational status birth household prenatal care lowest income group India poverty pregnancy complication Pregnancy Complications human middle aged birthplace Odds Ratio priority journal Logistic Models Cross-Sectional Studies Young Adult cross-sectional study migrant Humans female pregnancy Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice Article obstetric delivery Transportation adult cost control migration midwife traffic and transport Midwifery Poverty Areas patient attitude Hospitals homemaking and the family radio Patient Acceptance of Health Care home delivery hospital Transients and Migrants statistical model birth preparedness Delivery, Obstetric hazard family planning childbirth Parturition Mass Media attitude to health mass medium cesarean section Health Services Accessibility health care delivery health survey