Policies and Programs: A case study on the factors that increased institutional deliveries in Bangladesh

Abstract

Bangladesh is among the countries that have had a significant decline in maternal mortality. One important measure taken to reduce maternal mortality is to ensure that more women give birth in hospitals, where competent professional staffs are available in the event of complications. Bangladesh has experienced a significant increase in the proportion of women who give birth in hospitals while other countries struggle to achieve this goal. It is critical for these countries to draw lessons from Bangladesh s success. However, the factors contributing to the success (i.e. increase in hospital births) are not obvious. The purpose of this study is to reach an understanding of why so many more women have chosen to give births in hospitals.