FACTORS AFFECTING UTILIZATION OF SKILLED MATERNITY CARE SERVICES AMONG MARRIED ADOLESCENTS IN BANGLADESH

Abstract

The study examines the prevalence of and factors associated with maternal health care service utilization among married adolescents in Bangladesh using the 2004 Demographic and Health Survey data. The findings of the study suggest that safe motherhood practices among adolescents are poor. Although 52.5 percent of the adolescents received antenatal care services, only 14.4 percent sought assistance from skilled birth assistance during childbirth and 10.7 percent of the babies were delivered at medically-facilitated places. Both cross-sectional and fixed-effects binary logit models yielded quantitatively important and statistically significant (p<0.001) socio-demographic factors for the service utilization which include: place of residence, birth order and region. Women's education and wealth index are the most important determinants (p<0.001) in maternity care services utilization. Programs should be undertaken to provide information highlighting the benefits of modern services utilization among women to promote safe motherhood in Bangladesh.

Keywords:

• maternal health
• antenatal care
• adolescent
• Bangladesh

Notes

1. Millennium Development Goal #5 (MDG 5) aims to ‘Improve Maternal Health’ by ‘[r]educing by three quarters the maternal mortality ratio’, providing a framework for reporting progress on maternal health.

2. The three types of delay identified by this model include:

• DELAY in the decision to seek care due to socio-cultural and cost factors;

• DELAY in arrival at an appropriate health facility due to distance and/or lack of skilled providers;

• DELAY in the provision of adequate care due to lack of skilled providers and/or adequate resources.