title: Gender equality and childbirth in a health facility: Nigeria and MDG5.
abstract: This paper examined how addressing gender equality can lead to reductions in maternal mortality in Nigeria through an increased use of facility delivery. Because the majority of maternal complications cannot be predicted and often arise suddenly during labor, delivery and the immediate postpartum period, childbirth in a health facility is key to reducing maternal mortality. This paper used data from the 2008 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) to examine associations of gender measures on the utilization of facility delivery after controlling for socio-demographic factors. Four gender equality measures were studied: household decision-making, financial decision-making, attitudes towards wife beating, and attitudes regarding a wife's ability to refuse sex. Results found older, more educated, wealthier, urban, and working women were more likely to have a facility delivery than their counterparts. In addition ethnicity was a significant variable indicating the importance of cultural and regional diversity. Notably, after controlling for the socioeconomic variables, two of the gender equality variables were significant: household decision-making and attitudes regarding a wife's ability to refuse sex. In resource-poor settings such as Nigeria, women with more decision-making autonomy are likely better able to advocate for and access a health facility for childbirth. Thus programs and policies that focus on gender in addition to focusing on education and poverty have the potential to reduce maternal mortality even further.
authors: Department of Maternal and Child Health Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA. kavita_singh@unc.edu
authors: Kavita
authors: K
authors: Singh
authors: Shelah
authors: S
authors: Bloom
authors: Erica
authors: E
authors: Haney
authors: Comfort
authors: C
authors: Olorunsaiye
authors: Paul
authors: P
authors: Brodish
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006268:Health Facilities; D006293:Health Promotion; D006806:Human Rights; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008428:Maternal Mortality; D008429:Maternal Welfare; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009549:Nigeria; D026684:Personal Autonomy; D055815:Young Adult