Understanding Barriers and Facilitators of Maternal Health Care Utilization in Central Myanmar

Maja Aleksandra Milkowska-Shibata, Thin Thin Aye, San Myint Yi, Khin Thein Oo, Kyi Khaing, Marlar Than, Thinzar Win, Su Yi Myo, Su Yi Toe, Heidi Sierra West, Kristin Melissa Ringstad, Lizeth Galarza, Can Meng and Tomoyuki Shibata
Additional contact information
Maja Aleksandra Milkowska-Shibata: Global Environmental Health LAB, Brooklyn, NY 11026, USA
Thin Thin Aye: Department of International Relation, Yadanabon University, Mandalay 05063, Myanmar
San Myint Yi: Department of International Relation, Yadanabon University, Mandalay 05063, Myanmar
Khin Thein Oo: Department of Geography, Meiktila University, Meiktila 05181, Myanmar
Kyi Khaing: Department of Geography, Mandalar Degree College, Mandalay 05052, Myanmar
Marlar Than: Department, of Applied Economics, Meiktila University of Economics, Meiktila 05181, Myanmar
Thinzar Win: Department of Economics, Mandalay University, Mandalay 05032, Myanmar
Su Yi Myo: Mandalay City Development Committee, Mandalay 100102, Myanmar
Su Yi Toe: Department of Preventive and Social Medicine, University of Medicine, Mandalay 05024, Myanmar
Heidi Sierra West: Global Environmental Health LAB, Brooklyn, NY 11026, USA
Kristin Melissa Ringstad: Global Environmental Health LAB, Brooklyn, NY 11026, USA
Lizeth Galarza: Global Environmental Health LAB, Brooklyn, NY 11026, USA
Can Meng: Yale Center for Analytical Sciences, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA
Tomoyuki Shibata: Global Environmental Health LAB, Brooklyn, NY 11026, USA

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 5, 1-14

Abstract: The study objective was to examine barriers and facilitators of maternal health services utilization in Myanmar with the highest maternal mortality ratio in Southeast Asia. Data for 258 mothers with children under five were extracted from a community health survey administered between 2016 and 2017 in Mandalay, the largest city in central Myanmar, and analyzed for associations between determinants of maternal health care choices and related outcomes. The study showed that late antenatal care was underutilized (41.7%), and antenatal care attendance was significantly associated with geographical setting, household income, education, and access to transportation ( p ≤ 0.05). Less than one-third of women gave birth at home and 18.5% of them did so without the assistance of traditional birth attendants. Household education level was a significant predictor for home delivery ( p < 0.01). Utilization of postnatal care services was irregular (47.9%–70.9%) and strongly associated with women’s places of delivery ( p < 0.01). Efforts geared towards improving maternal health outcomes should focus on supporting traditional birth attendants in their role of facilitating high-quality care and helping women reach traditional health facilities, as well as on maternal health literacy based on culturally appropriate communication.

Keywords: maternal health; health care utilization; Myanmar (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/5/1464/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/5/1464/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:5:p:1464-:d:324803

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().