Maternity Care: A Comparative Report on the Availability and Use of Maternity Services.

Author(s):

Year: 2001

Abstract:

This 94-page report describes women's access to antenatal care, delivery care, emergency care, and family planning services in ten coountries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). Data were obtained from the Services Availability Module and women's questionnarie from the DHS III surveys implemented between 1993 and 1996/7. This report provides a comparative assessment of the availability and use of maternal health services and shows how service availabilty influences use. Analysis of this report found differing patterns, both in the provision and use of services between the African, Asian and LAC regions. In Africa women are more likely to use services and deliver with a skilled attendant than in other countries. In Asia, fewer women deliver with a skilled attendant and many more deliver at home, despite the fact that women in Asia and LAC countries live closer to services. Additionally, this report shows that the availability of maternal health services is consistently associated with greater use in every type of service considered. Rural women who live nearer health services are more likely to seek antenatal care earlier and more frequently than those who live farther from health services, and they are also more likely to use a skilled attendant and use a modern contraceptive method.