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Women's autonomy and pregnancy care in rural India: A contextual analysis

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  • Mistry, Ritesh
  • Galal, Osman
  • Lu, Michael

Abstract

Studies in low-income countries have shown that women's autonomy (i.e. the freedom of women to exercise their judgment in order to act for their own interests) influences a number of reproductive and child health outcomes, including the use of pregnancy care services. However, studies have not examined the full spectrum of pregnancy care services needed for safe motherhood and have not accounted for community context. This study analyzed data on women and their villages from the cross-sectional population-based National Family Health Survey-2 (1998-1999) of rural India to investigate whether women's autonomy (measured in the 3 dimensions of decision-making autonomy, permission to go out, and financial autonomy) was associated with the use of adequate prenatal, delivery and postnatal care. The findings indicate women's autonomy was associated with greater use of pregnancy care services, particularly prenatal and postnatal care. The effect of women's autonomy on pregnancy care use varied according to the region of India examined (North, East and South) such that it was most consistently associated with pregnancy care use in south India, which also had the highest level of self-reported women's autonomy. The results regarding village level factors suggest that public investment in rural economic development, primary health care access, social cohesion and basic infrastructure such as electrification and paved roads were associated with pregnancy care use. Improvements in women's autonomy and these village factors may improve healthier child bearing in rural India.

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  • Mistry, Ritesh & Galal, Osman & Lu, Michael, 2009. "Women's autonomy and pregnancy care in rural India: A contextual analysis," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 69(6), pages 926-933, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:69:y:2009:i:6:p:926-933
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    2. Yuvaraj Krishnamoorthy & Marie Gilbert Majella, 2021. "Determinants of postnatal care coverage among mothers and new‐borns in India: Evidence from a nationally representative survey," International Journal of Health Planning and Management, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(4), pages 1276-1286, July.
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    5. Tulsi Ram Bhandari & V Raman Kutty & T K Sundari Ravindran, 2016. "Women’s Autonomy and Its Correlates in Western Nepal: A Demographic Study," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(1), pages 1-9, January.
    6. Mustafa Özer & Jan Fidrmuc & Mehmet Ali Eryurt, 2017. "Does Maternal Education Affect Childhood Immunization Rates? Evidence from Turkey," CESifo Working Paper Series 6439, CESifo.
    7. David Fielding, 2013. "How Much Does Women's Empowerment Influence their Wellbeing? Evidence from Africa," Working Papers 1307, University of Otago, Department of Economics, revised Apr 2013.
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    13. Isabel Tiago de Oliveira & José G Dias & Sabu S Padmadas, 2014. "Dominance of Sterilization and Alternative Choices of Contraception in India: An Appraisal of the Socioeconomic Impact," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(1), pages 1-9, January.
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