Factors associated with seeking treatment for postpartum morbidities in rural India.
- Author:
Aditya SINGH
1
;
Abhishek KUMAR
Author Information
- Publication Type:Original Article
- Keywords: Postpartum morbidity; Healthcare utilization; Rural India; District Level Household Survey-3; Treatment-seeking
- MeSH: Abdominal Pain; Delivery of Health Care; Family Characteristics; Family Conflict; Female; Fever; Financial Management; Headache; Health Facilities; Hemorrhage; Hospitals, District; Hospitals, Private; Humans; India*; Islam; Logistic Models; Postpartum Period*; Prevalence; Seizures; Spouses; Vaginal Discharge
- From:Epidemiology and Health 2014;36(1):e2014026-
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:English
- Abstract: OBJECTIVES: To understand the prevalence of postpartum morbidities and factors associated with treatment-seeking behaviour among currently married women aged 15-49 residing in rural India. METHODS: We used data from the nationally representative District Level Household Survey from 2007-2008. Cross-tabulation was used to understand the differentials for the prevalence of postpartum morbidities and treatment-seeking behaviours across selected background characteristics. Two-level binary logistic regression was applied to understand the factors associated with treatment-seeking behaviour. RESULTS: Approximately 39.8% of rural women suffered from at least one of the six postpartum morbidities including high fever, lower abdominal pain, foul-smelling vaginal discharge, excessive bleeding, convulsions, and severe headache. Morbidities were more prevalent among poor, illiterate, Muslim, and high-parity women. About 55.1% of these rural women sought treatment/consultation for their problems. The odds of seeking treatment/consultation increased as economic status and years of schooling among both the woman and her husband increased. Poor, uneducated, unemployed, Hindu, and tribal women were less likely to seek treatment/consultation for postpartum morbidities than their counterparts were. The odds of seeking treatment/consultation decreased as the distance to the nearest private health facility increased. Most women visited a private hospital (46.3%) or a friend/family member's home (20.8%) for treatment/consultation. Only a small percentage visited publicly funded health institutions such as a primary health centre (8.8%), community health centre (6.5%), health sub-centre (2.8%), or district hospital (13.1%). Rural women from the northeast region of India were 50% less likely to seek treatment/consultation than women from the central region were. CONCLUSIONS: Providing antenatal and delivery care, and ensuring nearby government healthcare facilities are available to serve rural women might increase the likelihood of care-seeking for postpartum morbidities. Targeted interventions for vulnerable groups should be considered in future policies to increase the likelihood women will seek treatment or advice postpartum.
