background: improving maternal health is one of the eight millennium development goals (mdgs) aimed at improving maternal healthcare and reducing maternal mortality. the utilization of maternal health services is influenced by several factors that need to be better understood. the objective of this study was to estimate the role of socio-economic position as a determinant of the utilization of ...

BACKGROUND Coupled with the largest number of maternal deaths, adolescent pregnancy in India has received paramount importance due to early age at marriage and low contraceptive use. The factors associated with the utilization of maternal healthcare services among married adolescents in rural India are poorly discussed. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS Using the data from third wave of National...

BACKGROUND Indonesia still faces challenges in maternal health. Specifically, the lack of information on community-level maternal morbidity. The relatively high maternal healthcare non-utilization in Indonesia intensifies this problem. OBJECTIVE To describe the burden of community-level maternal morbidity in Indonesia. Additionally, to evaluate the extent and determinants of missed opportunit...

BACKGROUND Most previous studies on healthcare service utilization in low-income countries have not used a multilevel study design to address the importance of community-level women's autonomy. We assessed whether women's autonomy, measured at both individual and community levels, is associated with maternal healthcare service utilization in Ethiopia. METHODS We analyzed data from the 2005 an...

BACKGROUND Despite remarkable progress in maternal and child health, inequity persists in maternal care utilization in Bangladesh. Government of Bangladesh (GOB) with technical assistance from United Nation Population Fund (UNFPA), United Nation Children's Fund (UNICEF) and World Health Organization (WHO) started implementing Maternal and Neonatal Health Initiatives in selected districts of Ban...

BACKGROUND Maternal healthcare utilization is a major determinant of maternal mortality. Bangladesh is experiencing a rapid pace of urbanization with all future growth in population expected to be in urban areas. Health care infrastructure is different in urban and rural areas thus warranting an examination of equity in use rates of maternal healthcare. This paper addresses whether the urban-ru...

BACKGROUND Studies have often ignored examining the role of community- and district-level factors in the utilization of maternity healthcare services, particularly in Indian contexts. The Social Determinants of Health framework emphasizes the role of governance and government policies, the measures for which are rarely incorporated in single-level individual analysis. This study examines factor...

BACKGROUND A low ratio of utilization of healthcare services in postpartum women may contribute to maternal deaths during the postpartum period. The maternal mortality ratio is high in the Philippines. The aim of this study was to examine the current utilization of healthcare services and the effects on the health of women in the Philippines who delivered at home. METHODS This was a cross-sec...

in nigeria, the government is implementing the free maternal and child health care programme (fmchcp). the policy is premised on the notion that financial barriers are one of the most important constraints to equitable access and use of skilled maternal and child healthcare. in ebonyi state, southeastern nigeria the fmchcp is experiencing implementation challenges including: inadequate human re...