Trend of 4+ Antenatal Care Visits by Rural Women in Bangladesh:

Abstract

Abstract Antenatal Care (ANC) is one of the four pillars initiatives of the Safe Motherhood. Since MMR is high in rural areas of Bangladesh so to reduce MMR the uptake of ANC visit from trained provider is important. The objective of this study was to see the trends of 4+ ANC visit and identify the factors associated with the number of antenatal visits in rural areas.This study used the data generated from Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey (BDHS) 2004-2014 to observe the trends and factors associated of 4+ ANC visit. The results of bivariate and multivariate analyses confirm that divisions, wealth, education and media exposure had strong influence on rural women’s 4 + ANC visit. Result of logistic regression model shows that poor and less educated women of rural areas were less likely to seek 4+ ANC visit than urban areas. This outcome of the paper suggests that rural women economic status and education has significant effect on 4+ ANC visit. The findings will help to design appropriate strategies, programs and policies for the improvement of rural women’s maternal healthcare seeking behaviour.