Maternal mortality and women’s political participation

Bhalotra, Sonia R.; Clarke, Damian; Gomes, Joseph Flavian; Venkataramani, Atheendar S.

doi:10.35188/unu-wider/2018/500-8

Cited by 8 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…We further investigated fertility and women’s education (Figure 8 panels C and D), given evidence that these variables are associated with maternal mortality (Bhalotra and Clarke, 2013). We find a decrease of 1.1 to 2.6 births per 1,000 population in birth rates.…”

Section: Mechanismsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Maternal Mortality and Women’s Political Participation

Bhalotra

Clarke

Gomes

et al. 2019

Preprint

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We show that large declines in maternal mortality can be achieved by raising women's political participation. We estimate that the recent wave of quotas for women in parliament in low income countries has resulted in a 9 to 12% decline in maternal mortality. Among mechanisms are that gender quotas lead to an 8 to 10% increase in skilled birth attendance, a 6 to 12% increase in prenatal care utilization, and a 4 to 11% decrease in birth rates.

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Section: Mechanismsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Maternal Mortality and Women’s Political Participation

Bhalotra

Clarke

Gomes

et al. 2019

Preprint

Self Cite

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“…Likewise, the politics of presence theory posit that there is a close link between the number of women elected and the advancement of women's interests (Phillips, 1995). Thereby, given that health is a preoccupation and priority for women, relative to men, government health spending increases more with the presence of women in decision-making positions and their political influence (Bhalotra, Clarke, & Gomes, 2018;Detraz & Peksen, 2018).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Particularly, a better representation of women in decision-making spheres through their accession to political positions allows better consideration of their concerns and those of their children in public policies. Health is a priority for women compared to men because they disproportionately bear the costs of poor health (Bhalotra, Clarke, & Gomes, 2018;Clayton & Zetterberg, 2018). When health systems are weak, they run the risk of not receiving adequate prenatal services and of dying during childbirth in the absence of appropriate health infrastructure and qualified health personnel.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Do Women’s Parliamentary Representation Increase Government Health Spending in Sub-Saharan Africa?

2020

JESD

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It is widely recognized in the literature that the increased political participation of marginalized sections of the population allows their interests to be taken into account in public policies. At the same time, in Sub-Saharan Africa, the percentage of women parliamentarians rose from 12.1% in 2000 to 24% in 2019. Likewise, health systems are characterized by public underfunding, limited accessibility of health services, and relatively weak maternal and child health indicators. This article evaluates the effect of women's parliamentary representation on government health spending in a sample of 39 sub-Saharan African countries over the period 2000-2017. The estimates made with fixed effects method, random effects method and panel-corrected standard errors method reveal that government health expenditure increases with the proportion of seats in parliament occupied by women. Therefore, this study advocates for the increase of women participation and representation in political and decisionmaking spheres.

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“…An estimated 295,000 maternal deaths occurred globally in 2017, making an overall MMR of 211 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births. Out of this, least developed countries account for a maternal mortality rate of 415 per 100,000 live births, with sub-Saharan Africa being the only region with very high MMR 542 per 100,000 live births and Ethiopia accounting for 14,000 maternal deaths [4,5].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Appropriate delivery care is crucial for both maternal and prenatal health, and increasing skilled attendants at birth is the central goal of the safe motherhood and child survival movements. In addition to professional attention, it is important that mothers deliver their babies in an appropriate setting where lifesaving equipment and hygienic conditions can also help reduce the risk of complications that may cause death or illness to mother and child [4,9].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Determinants of Skilled Birth Attendant Utilization at Chelia District, West Ethiopia

Dufera

Bala

Desta

et al. 2020

International Journal of Reproductive Medicine

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Background. An estimated 303,000 maternal deaths occurred globally in 2015 from which sub-Saharan Africa alone accounted for 201,000 (66%) of the maternal deaths, and most of these are attributed to complications of pregnancy and childbirth due to the absence of institutional delivery by skilled attendants. Objective. The aim of this study was to assess institutional delivery utilization and associated factors among mothers who gave birth in the last one year in Chelia District. Methodology. A community-based cross-sectional study design supplemented by a qualitative method was employed from March 15 to 30, 2018. A multistage sampling technique was used to select 475 study participants. Quantitative data were collected using structured questionnaires, and focus group discussions were employed to get qualitative data. The data were entered to EpiData version 3.1 and exported to the statistical package version 21 for analysis. Descriptive statistics and bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis were computed to measure the strength of association between dependent and independent variables at a p value of <0.05. Results. Among the respondents, 216 (46.2%) utilized institutional delivery service. Monthly income (AOR=4.465, 95%CI=1.729,11.527), antenatal care attendance (AOR=0.077, 95%CI=0.008,0.73), knowledge of mothers about their expected date of delivery (AOR=0.297, 95%CI=0.179,4.93), intended pregnancy (AOR=0.326, 95%CI=0.162,0.654), discussion with health extension workers about the place of delivery at home visit (AOR=0.11, 95%CI=0.023,0.523), knowledge of mothers about the existence of the waiting area in health facilities (AOR=0.14, 95%CI=0.023,0.84), and number of children (AOR=0.119, 95%CI=0.029,0.485) had a significant association with institutional delivery utilization. Conclusion. Utilization of institutional delivery was low and far away from the expected country target in the district. The health sector should strive to increase proportion of institutional delivery by reaching pregnant mothers with timely antenatal care service provision and enhancing family planning provision.

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Maternal mortality and women’s political participation

Cited by 8 publications

References 39 publications

Maternal Mortality and Women’s Political Participation

Maternal Mortality and Women’s Political Participation

Do Women’s Parliamentary Representation Increase Government Health Spending in Sub-Saharan Africa?

Determinants of Skilled Birth Attendant Utilization at Chelia District, West Ethiopia

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