Utilization Of Maternal Health Care In South India

This study examines the patterns and determinants of maternal health care use across different social setting in south India: in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Data source for the study is National Family Health Survey (NFHS) carried out during 1992-93 across most states in India. The study focuses on the health care utilization of women who gave birth recently to that of ever married women during the four years prior to the date of the survey. Logistic regression models to estimate the effect of covariates on the utilization of maternal health services viz., antenatal care, tetanus toxoid vaccine, place of delivery and assistance during delivery. The level of utilization of maternal health care services was found to be highest in Tamil Nadu. Part of the interstate differences in utilization is likely to be due to differences in availability and accessibility among the three south Indian states. It is, argued that the differential in access to health care facilities between rural-urban areas is an important factor for lower utilization of maternal health care services. Results from this study indicate that health workers play a pivotal role in providing antenatal care in the rural areas [CDS WP].