Women Empowerment and Maternal Health Care
Utilisation in North-East India
By Mousumi Gogoi
Maternal health care services have always been concerned in reproductive health studies and women empowerment plays a great role in receiving health services in developing countries. The main focus of the present study is to find out the association between women’s empowerment and utilisation of maternal health care (MHC) services in North-East India using third round of National Family Health Survey (2005-06). Descriptive statistics, bivariate and multivariate techniques are used to justify the objectives and different indices have created to show women empowerment in the region. Result shows that women were highly empowered in terms of decision making, whereas having own money and mobility is still lacking behind in the studied region. The proportion of using any ANC is quite high but utilisation of full ANC in very low among women in the region. Empowerment status is not directly hindered in use of health care services but lack of own money and mobility is a disadvantageous aspect. The region as a whole, proportion of institutional delivery and delivery by health professional is fairly uncommon.