AbstractBackgroundThe postnatal period is defined as the first six weeks after the birth of a baby. This period is essential for the health and survival of both the mother and baby as maternal mortality usually occurs during this period due to neglected postnatal care. Globally, more than half a million women die annually from complications of pregnancy and delivery. Therefore, this study is designed to assess the knowledge of postnatal care and factors affecting the utilization of postnatal care services in Akure South Local Government of Ondo State, Nigeria. MethodsThe study design was a descriptive cross-sectional study of 400 mothers who gave birth within six weeks before the administration of questionnaires were studied in 2 randomly selected government health facilities in Akure South Local Government Area. Data was collected through face-to-face interviews; a pre-test was done after which the necessary corrections were made. Data were entered, cleaned, and analyzed using SPSS version 20. ResultsThe age group distribution with the highest frequency was 26-37, which represented 73.8% of the respondents, those in the age group 15-25 and 38-49 were 16.5% and 9.8% respectively. The mean age of the mothers studied was 30.78(SD +/- 5.0 years). The majority (83%) were Christians, while Muslims constituted 17%.Yorubas (84.8%) were the major ethnic group, others accounted for 15.2%. The majority of them (96%) are married, while a minority (4%) are single. Urban dwellers were 71.3%, whereas 28.8% reside in rural areas. Also, 58.3% of the participants and 71.8% of their partners have a post-secondary school education, while 84.8% of respondents and 90.3% of their partners are employed. Almost three-fifth (62.5%) of the respondents have a good understanding of postnatal care. Around two-thirds (64.5%) of the participants utilized postnatal care even though almost all the women gave birth at health institutions. There was statistically significant positive relationship between awareness of postnatal care services (p= 0.001), place of antenatal care (p= 0.002), place of child delivery (p= 0.014), educational status of respondents (p= 0.001), employment status of respondents (p= 0.003), and educational status of partners (p= 0.001) with attending postnatal care clinics. Hindrances are lack of awareness about postnatal care clinics, bad attitude of health workers to patients, far distance of postnatal care clinics from home, and interference with their work schedule. Enabling factors are the establishment of more postnatal care facilities, awareness of these services in the media, and the involvement of family members/ friends as well as community heads. ConclusionThere is a need for more awareness of postnatal care clinics, more attention should be given to the health needs of postnatal mothers and there should be improved access to postnatal care for mothers living in rural areas and involvement of relatives/friends including community and religious leaders in health programs.