Page 113 - IJPS-2-2

International Journal of Population Studies

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Utilization of maternal and child health care

services in North and South India: does spousal

violence matter?

2
1*
Atreyee Sinha and Aparajita Chattopadhyay
1 International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS), Govandi Station Road, Deonar, Mumbai- 400088,
Maharashtra, India
2 Department of Development Studies, International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS), Govandi
Station Road, Deonar, Mumbai- 400088, Maharashtra, India

Abstract: Spousal violence emerged as a major public health concern over the past few decades as
its consequences on the health of victims are profound. Infliction of violence during pregnancy is even
more detrimental as it might cause serious injuries to women and their unborn children. Violence during
pregnancy can restrict access to proper health care and affect the health of mother and child. However, the
role of spousal violence on utilization of pregnancy care services is not well explored in India where both
fertility and spousal violence are high. In the present study, we used data of selected North and South In-
dian states from the National Family Health Survey (2005–2006) to examine the relationship between
experience of spousal violence by young married women and utilization of maternal and child health care
services. A marked regional variation was observed in MCH care utilization and levels of violence, where
the South Indian states performed better than the North. Spousal violence was a significant factor deter-
mining MCH care use. Women who had experienced any form of physical/sexual violence were less
likely to receive full ante natal care than non-abused women and the association was stronger in the South.
Women experiencing any physical/sexual violence were also less likely to avail institutional delivery in
the North. Emotional violence had similar constraining effects on MCH care use in the South. Integration
of violence screening and counselling with MCH programs could be helpful to address the needs of
abused pregnant women and provide essential care.
Keywords: spousal violence, maternal and child health care services, ante natal care, institutional deli-
very, India

*Correspondence to: Atreyee Sinha, International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS), Govandi Station Road, Deonar,
Mumbai-400088, Maharashtra, India; Email: atreyee_dabloo@yahoo.com
Copyright: © 2016 Atreyee
Sinha and Aparajita Chatto- Received: July 5, 2016; Accepted: August 25, 2016; Published Online: September 1, 2016
padhyay. This is an Open Citation: Sinha A and Chattopadhyay A. (2016). Utilization of maternal and child health care services in North and
Access article distributed un- South India: Does spousal violence matter? International Journal of Population Studies, vol.2(2): 107–122.
der the terms of the Creative http://dx.doi.org/10.18063/IJPS.2016.02.001.
Commons Attribution-Non-
Commercial 4.0 International 1. Introduction
License (http://creativecom-
mons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/),
permitting all non-commerc- Quality care during pregnancy and child birth is essential to ensure health and well-being of both the
ial use, distribution, and repro- mother and the child. A majority of the maternal deaths associated with pregnancy complications
duction in any medium, pro- and child birth result from lack of access to and receipt of routine health care and emergency
vided the original work is
properly cited. health care services (Fawole, Shah, Fabanwo et al., 2012; Ibeh, 2008) and this is particularly so in

International Journal of Population Studies | 2016, Volume 2, Issue 2 107