Sadaf Faiz, Zahira Batool, Sana Ejaz, Prof Abid Rashid.
Maternity care services; accessibility among rural women in district Faisalabad.
Professional Med J Jan ;23(06):721-6.

Introduction: Maternal health care refers to high quality health care provided to a pregnant woman during pregnancy, delivery and postnatal period. The maternal mortality ratio is quite high in the rural areas of Pakistan. Rural society is highly associated with its traditions and cultural values. There are some cultural and social barriers for women. They are being considered negligible part of the population and are facing a number of hardships in availing health facilities. Objective: The aim of the study was to find out the socioeconomic, cultural and demographic factors affecting the access of rural women to maternity care services. Study Design: A cross-sectional study was conducted in the rural areas of District Faisalabad. Quantitative research method was used to get meaningful, detailed information. Material and Methods: A sample of 205 pregnant women aged 18-38 was taken, purposively to explore the research objectives through pre-designed interviewing schedule with open and closed ended questions. Results: Univariate and bivariate analysis reveal the factors associated with the utilization of maternity care services such as education of the respondents and their husbands, family type, household income, age at marriage, attitudes towards health care facilities were found to be associated with the utilization of maternity care service. Conclusion: The study reveals that a number of reproductive problems occurred among pregnant women in the rural areas of Pakistan due to the limited health facilities, socio-demographic and cultural barricades which restricted them to utilize maternity care services.

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