Poverty, Women and Child Health in Rural Romania: Uninformed Choice or Lack of Services?

Abstract

This article explores the barriers that poor rural women encounter in the process of accessing health care for themselves and for their children in Romania. The literature shows that although the availability of health, sanitation and other social services is important in determining child health outcomes, its interaction with household characteristics determines the actual outcomes. Specifically, my aim is to document the pathways through which maternal education affects child health in interaction with ethnicity and with the availability of health care services. Based on extensive qualitative research in Romania, I argue that the barriers that rural women encounter appear mostly because these women lack access to appropriate health care information. They are not able to make informed choices about their fertility and their childcare practices. Furthermore, their choices are limited because of the scarcity of basic health services in rural areas and lack of information provided through the current health care system. Minority Roma women face additional barriers due to social exclusion and discrimination. This research identifies areas of concern for public health policy in Romania, and it opens new doors for inquiry in this field.