Health care facility for married adolescent girls in Bangladesh
Health facility-based deliveries have continuously increased among adolescents in
Bangladesh over the past two decades from 3% in 1993–1994 to 24.5% in 2011. Rates of population based and facility-based caesarean sections have increased linearly among all age groups of women including adolescents. Although the country’s overall (population-based) caesarean section rate among adolescents was within acceptable range (11.6%), a rate of nearly 50% health facility level caesarean sections among adolescent girls is alarming. Among adolescent girls, use of antenatal care (ANC) appeared to be the most important predictor of health facility based delivery (OR: 4.04; 95% CI 2.73 to 5.99), whereas the wealth index appeared as the most important predictor of caesarean sections (OR: 5.7; 95% CI 2.74 to 12.1).
Maternal health-related interventions should be more targeted towards adolescent girls in order to encourage them to access ANC and promote health facility-based delivery. Rising trends of caesarean sections require further investigation on indication and provider–client-related determinants of these interventions among adolescent girls in Bangladesh.
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