Exploring the Determinants of Maternal Healthcare Utilization in India

Women have played a significant role in almost every society of the world since time immemorial. But for many years, the status of women has been a source of debate and concern. Despite the progress made in recent years, women especially in the developing world still face numerous obstacles. Although men & women have different healthcare needs, they both have the right to lead healthy lives. However, for a large number of women and girls, gender discrimination routinely impedes their access to healthcare due to a variety of factors, such as limited economic opportunities, lack of education and mobility restrictions. As a result, the maternal death rate is unacceptably high. Every day in 2020, almost 800 women died from pregnancy and childbirth-related avoidable factors (WHO,2020). Almost 95% of all maternal deaths took place in low and lower-middle-income countries of the world where the lifetime risk of maternal death is comparatively high when compared with high-income and upper-middle-income countries. The probability of a 15-year-old woman dying from a maternal cause is her lifetime risk of maternal death. In low-income countries, it is 1 in 49 and 1 in 160 in lower-middle-income countries whereas, in high-income and upper-middle-income countries, it is 1 in 5300 and 1 in 1400 respectively (WHO,2020). Thus, women under the reproductive age group of 15-49 years have a higher lifetime risk of maternal death in low-income and lower-middle-income countries. Most maternal deaths occur in such countries because of the complications that develop during and after pregnancy and childbirth. Most of these complications are preventable if pregnant women have timely access to quality maternal healthcare facilities. However, several socio-demographic and economic obstacles prevent the majority of women in these areas from accessing and utilizing maternal health facilities.