title: Antenatal Care in Nepal: A Socioecological Perspective.
abstract: Globally, millions of women die during pregnancy and childbirth due to preventable causes. In Nepal, although significant improvements have been made in the availability of routine antenatal care (ANC), the need for effective initiatives still persists. Using the 2011 Nepal Demographic and Health Survey data, we examine the relationship between ecological and socioeconomic variations on the effect of ANC services between three distinct ecological zones in Nepal. We make a case for the consideration of socioecological niches in designing effective policies and programs to achieve positive maternal health outcomes. Most importantly, we demonstrate how sociocultural perspective can be one alternative for examining the cultural and contextual effects on women's health, contributing to the methodological literature on women's health. Since geography and culture are components of human ecology and form the larger socioecological system, we highlight the importance of these contextual effects on women's health in general, and the conditions under which women from diverse backgrounds may experience similar health issues.
authors.affiliation: a School of Social Work , University of Texas at Arlington , Arlington , Texas , USA.
authors.forename: Arati
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Maleku
authors.affiliation: a School of Social Work , University of Texas at Arlington , Arlington , Texas , USA.
authors.forename: Vijayan K
authors.initials: VK
authors.lastname: Pillai
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003469:Culture; D036861:Delivery, Obstetric; D005260:Female; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006801:Humans; D008427:Maternal Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D009390:Nepal; D010298:Parity; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D011159:Population Surveillance; D011247:Pregnancy; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome; D011295:Prenatal Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D016387:Women's Health