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Change of socioeconomic status and inequity in maternal health care in Bangladesh: Implication for developing countries

M Sheikh Giash Uddin, Jagannath University
Mohammed Ahsanul Alam, Government of Bangladesh

The aim of this paper was to examine the changes in socioeconomic factors and its effect of maternal health care. The study also investigated inequity in maternal health care. The study used data from multiple round Bangladesh Demographic and Health Surveys. The probability of using maternal health services increased significantly with the level of education of women. Compared to women with no education, women with higher education had higher odds ratio of medically trained assisted 4 or more ANC, delivery, PNC and cesarean delivery services utilization. Analysis shows not only maternal health care service increases with living standard but it also shows that how much the poor sought care from medically trained provider than the better off. The richest-poorest-quintiles ratio due to ANC-4 care was declined from 18 to 3 between 1993 and 2018. The absolute values of CI for use of ANC-4 in these periods are 0.748 and 0.203. Both are significantly different from zero. The gap of medically trained assisted delivery and caesarean delivery between poor and rich is declined. But still the gap existed which are significantly different from zero. Women education and economic status of women as the most significant determinant of maternal health service utilization.

Keywords: Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights, Inequality, Economic analysis

See extended abstract.

  Presented in Session P8.