Factors Governing Maternal Health Care Utilisation: Evidence from Rural India

Abstract

This paper examines the role played by the various socio-economic and community level factors to determine the maternal health care utilisation using the data from National Family Health Survey (NFHS) carried out in 1998-99 in India. Our analysis document that autonomy enjoyed by women and exposure to media has a significant impact on maternal heath care utilization even after controlling for other attributes particularly her education and household economic status. Women with delivery complications are found to be aware of the risks involved and keener to seek institutional care. Availability of a government facility has no bearing on the respondent's utilization choice but presence of a private facility in the village propagates the utilization of a private health facility in contrast to delivering at home. The results show that even after controlling for availability of both public as well as private health facility, development of the village infrastructure and other informative community level programmes are required to mitigate the cultural and economic barriers that deter the use of maternal services. Furthermore, the obtained results provide insights for formulating health policies. Policies should be oriented to meet the specific needs of individuals particularly those belonging to the vulnerable social groups. Fortunately, women with delivery complications were found to be aware of the risks involved and more keen to seek institutional care (public or private). This highlights the importance of devising health services and programmes aimed at early detections of obstetric problems.