Social divide in maternal health care use in rural India: the relative impact of education and economic status

Dilip TR, Centre for Development Studies
Udaya S Mishra, Centre for Development Studies

Paper attempts to understand the complexity in association between caste background of a woman and utilization of health care services in rural India. Caste-based differentials in utilization of maternal care services are examined to assess whether they arise due to deprivation in income, education or cultural factors. In terms of factors contributing to caste-based deprivation in utilization of maternal care services, the gross effect of educational level of woman was more than her economic status. However effect of these three variables were distinct across various components of maternal care services examined. Results also demonstrates how utilization of antenatal care services promotes the preference for institutional deliveries, while the utilization of antenatal care service and institutional facility for delivery jointly promote the acceptance for post natal care services in rural India.