A Study on Utilisation of Maternal Health Care Services in Haryana

Abstract

Despite being a relatively smaller state, Haryana’s per capita Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) is quite high. However, the statistical data on the status of women has a different story to share. This study analyses the maternal healthcare situation in Haryana to examine the differences in utilisation of maternal health care service, i.e. delivery care on the basis of socio-economic and socio-demographic indicators such as women’s age at birth, birth order, education, residence, religion, wealth index and caste. The study uses the third round of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) data which is similar to the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS). The findings reveal that women who have taken antenatal care utilise these services much more than women who have not taken antenatal care services. The utilisation pattern is in conjugation with the hypotheses. The results demonstrate that several socio-economic and demographic factors affect the utilisation of delivery care services in Haryana. Efforts need to be taken at community and household level to improve utilisation the utilisation of these services.