A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal

Floods and maternal healthcare utilisation in Bangladesh




AuthorsOrderud, Hilde; Härkönen, Juho; Hårsaker, Cathrine Tranberg; Bogren, Malin

PublisherSpringer Science and Business Media LLC

Publication year2022

Journal: Population and Environment

Journal name in sourcePopulation and Environment

Volume44

First page 193

Last page225

ISSN0199-0039

eISSN1573-7810

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1007/s11111-022-00410-3

Web address https://doi.org/10.1007/s11111-022-00410-3


Abstract

Floods are a common natural hazard in Bangladesh, and climate change is expected to further increase flooding frequency, magnitude and extent. Pregnant women in flood contexts could face challenges in utilisation of maternal healthcare. The aim of this paper is to analyse associations between flood exposure and the use of maternal healthcare (antenatal care visits, birth assisted by skilled birth attendants, and giving birth in a health facility) in Bangladesh for pregnancies/births between 2004 and 2018. Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey data from four surveys in the time period 2007–2018 and data on floods from the Emergency Events Database and the Geocoded Disasters Dataset are analysed using multilevel linear probability models. In line with previous results, we find clear bivariate associations between exposure to flooding and maternal healthcare use. These associations are largely confounded by socioeconomic and demographic variables. In general, exposure to flooding — whether measured as exposure to any floods or severe floods — does not affect maternal healthcare use, and we suggest that the lower usage of maternal healthcare in areas exposed to flooding rather relates to the characteristics of the flood-prone areas and their populations, which also relate to lower maternal healthcare use. However, we find negative associations in some supplementary analyses, which suggest that even if there is no effect of floods on average, specific floods may have negative effects on maternal healthcare use.



Last updated on 17/12/2025 02:43:29 PM