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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
Parveen A. Khanum, MSS, MA, Centre for Women's Stduies and Gender Research, Monash University, Australia, Faculty of Arts, PO Box 11a, Victoria 3800, Melbourn, MO 3800, Australia, 61-3-9905-3239, ak_parveen@yahoo.com, M A Quaiyum, MBBS, ICDDR,B: centre for Health and Population Research, Health Systems and Infectious Disease Division, GPO Box No. 128, Mohakhali, Dhaka, AK 1000, Bangladesh, and Ariful Islam, M Sc, Health Systems and Infectious Disease Division, ICDDR,B:Centre fro Health and Population Research, GPO Box No. 128, Mohakhali, Dhaka, 1000, Bangladesh.
The maternal mortality ratio in Bangladesh is 4.5 per 1,000 live-births, which is still very high even by the standards of other developing countries. A cross-sectional study was designed to investigate the pattern of obstetric complications experienced by rural Bangladeshi women and subsequent care-seeking behaviour. A structured questionnaire was used and interviewed 4,526 women who delivered within one year of the survey between March to July 2001.
Findings showed that 66 percent of the women developed at least one or more complications during the index pregnancy and or childbirth, the most common of which were prolonged labour, fever, bleeding, and pre-eclamptic toxaemia. Most of the women who had complications consulted with untrained providers. Fourty-one percent consulted with village practitioners (quack), and 17 percent went to homeopaths/kabiraj, 34 percent sought care from medically trained personnel or any facility and about one-fifth did not seek any care at all. Multivariate analysis showed that the use of institutional facilities/or trained providers for obstetric complications was positively associated with women's age, education, knowledge of obstetric complications and their husbands education. Husbands were the principle decision-makers for consulting of a care providers for the management of obstetric complications for their wives. Therefore, there is a for awareness-raising efforts in the community both men and women about symptoms of complications of pregnancy and childbirth and the importance of seeking medical help in obstetric emergency without any delay. A Pictorial card developed containing the signs of obstetric complications and have been introduced as a tool for educating the community about the when and where to go for care for their management.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Community Health Promoters, Maternal Morbidity
Related Web page: www.icddrb.org
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: Health Systems and Infectious Disease Division
ICDDR,B: Centre for Health and Population Research
GPO Box No.128, Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh
I have a significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.
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