Complications During Pregnancy, Delivery, and Postnatal Stages and Place of Delivery in Rural Bangladesh

Abstract

The utilization of safe motherhood services including maternity care in Bangladesh is very poor. Only a very small proportion of deliveries takes place in a hospital/clinic. This study is based on data from a follow-up study on maternal morbidity in rural Bangladesh. Analysis is performed on the nature of complications by place of delivery. Most of the deliveries have taken place in the women's own or her mother's home. In addition, home deliveries are mostly assisted either by an untrained birth attendant or by relatives or others. Education, economic status, whether pregnancy was wanted or not, regular visits for antenatal care, past history of breathing problems and liver diseases, and palpitation during pregnancy appear to have significant association with place of delivery in rural Bangladesh. The utilization of a hospital/clinic instead of birth at home is higher among women with secondary or higher level of education, who desired the pregnancy, and who made regular visits for antenatal care. Delivery at a mother's home appears to be positively associated with higher economic status, desired pregnancy, gainful employment, and visits for antenatal care. If the respondents suffer from diseases/symptoms, then it is more likely that the delivery would take place in the mother's home.

The authors thank Mahbub E. Elahi K. Chowdhury and Arindom Sen of the Bangladesh Institute of Research for Promotion of Essential and Reproductive Health and Technologies (BIRPERHT) for their assistance during different phases of this work. We also thank Dr. J. Chakraborty for his help with the preparation of the manuscript. The authors are greatly indebted to the Ford Foundation for funding the data collection of the maternal morbidity study.

Notes

∗∗Significant at 1% level;

∗significant at 5% level.

∗∗Significant at 1% level;

∗significant at 5% level.

∗∗Significant at 1% level;

∗significant at 5% level.