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. 2020 Oct 15;20(1):622.
doi: 10.1186/s12884-020-03309-9.

Dimensions of women's empowerment on access to skilled delivery services in Nepal

Januka Khatiwada  1 , Basilua Andre Muzembo  2 , Koji Wada  3 , Shunya Ikeda  3
Affiliations

Dimensions of women's empowerment on access to skilled delivery services in Nepal

Januka Khatiwada et al. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. .

Abstract

Background: Each day, approximately 810 women die during pregnancy and childbirth and 94% of the deaths take place in low and middle income countries. Only 45% of the births in South Asia are attended by skilled professionals, which is lower than that in other Asian regions. Antenatal and postnatal care received from skilled providers can help prevent maternal and neonatal mortality by identifying pregnancy-related complications. Women's empowerment is considered to be a significant determinant of maternal health care outcomes; however, studies on the contextual influences of different dimensions of empowerment in Nepal are relatively limited. Therefore, this study analyzed nationwide survey data to examine the influence of women's economic empowerment, sociocultural empowerment, familial/interpersonal empowerment and media and information technology empowerment on accessing skilled delivery services among the married women in Nepal.

Methods: This study examined the influence of women's empowerment on skilled delivery services among married women (n = 4400) aged 15-49 years using data from the 2016 Nepal Demographic and Health Survey. Descriptive analysis and binary logistic regression analysis were employed to analyze the data.

Results: Significant associations were found between women's media and information technology empowerment, economic empowerment and sociocultural empowerment and access to skilled birth attendants. Specifically, the education of women, their occupation, owning a bank account, media exposure, and internet use were significantly associated with the use of skilled birth attendants.

Conclusion: Focusing on women's access to media and information technology, economic enhancement and education may increase the use of skilled birth attendants in Nepal.

Keywords: Demographic and health survey; Nepal; Skilled delivery service; women’s empowerment.

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Conflict of interest statement

No significant competing financial, professional or personal interests that might have influenced the performance or presentation of the work described in this manuscript.

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Fig. 1
Conceptual framework
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