Women's postnatal care utilization from a medically trained provider in Bangladesh: Evidence from a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Maternal and neonatal mortality are still high in Bangladesh. The majority of these deaths occur within two days after delivery. The maximum number of deaths can be eliminated by providing timely postnatal care. This study aimed to identify the prevalence and risk factors associated with women's postnatal care utilization from a medically trained provider in Bangladesh. In order to perform this study, we used the most recent data from the Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey 2017–18. A total of 3,287 women of reproductive age were examined. The multilevel Poisson regression model was used to identify the risk factors related to the utilization of postnatal care. The risk factors that were statistically significant were explained using an incidence rate ratio (IRR) with a 95% confidence interval. The prevalence of women’s postnatal care utilization from a medically trained provider was 51.83%. Women’s secondary education (IRR = 1.49, 95% CI = 1.22-1.82), higher secondary education (IRR = 1.66, 95% CI = 1.34-2.06), partners higher secondary education (IRR = 1.28, 95% CI = 1.10–1.49), partners' other occupations (students, unemployed, imams, or religious leaders) (IRR = 1.40, 95% CI = 1.09–1.80), rural areas (IRR = 0.90, 95% CI = 0.83-0.98), exposing to mass media (IRR = 1.17, 95% CI = 1.07-1.27), richest wealth index (IRR = 1.38, 95% CI = 1.24–1.53), and middle wealth index (IRR = 1.20, 95% CI = 1.09–1.33) were factors significantly associated with women’s postnatal care utilization. So, focusing on women’s education, partner's education, partner's occupation, place of residence, exposure to mass media, and wealth index can play a vital role in increasing women's postnatal care utilization from a medically trained provider in Bangladesh.