Women’s Decision-Making Autonomy as a Mitigating Factor for Complete Antenatal Care Coverage: Evidence from Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey, 2017-18

Abstract

AbstractThe study defines complete antenatal care (ANC) coverage as a measure of better quality ANC by using three indicator variables: ANC from skilled health providers, initiating ANC during the first trimester, and receiving at least 4 ANC visits. The research work is aimed to determine the impact of women’s household decision-making autonomy on complete ANC coverage and investigates other potential factors associated with complete ANC coverage. As per researchers’ knowledge, this is the first study in Bangladesh where the association between women’s decision-making autonomy and complete ANC coverage has been explored. The study obtained data from 4864 women on their last successful pregnancy which has been extracted from Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey (BDHS), 2017-18. Descriptive and analytical analysis has been carried out using frequency tables, the chi-square test of association, and the binary logistic regression model. The result shows that almost one-fourth of women (25.5%) fulfill the requirements of complete ANC coverage. Moreover, both the chi-square test and the logistic regression model confirm the significant association between women’s decision-making autonomy and complete ANC coverage. It is evident from the study that women with higher decision-making autonomy have significantly 25% higher adjusted odds of experiencing complete ANC coverage compared to those who have low autonomy power. Moreover, the findings of the study signify the factors Division, Place of residence, Maternal education level, Wealth index, Mother’s age at birth, Media coverage, Exposure to domestic violence, Partner’s education level, and Birth order as potential factors affecting complete ANC coverage in Bangladesh. Therefore effective policies are required to prioritize interventions that promote women's autonomy in household decision making which in return can lead to better maternal and child health outcomes in Bangladesh.