The study found that women’s low status in society, poor quality of maternity care services, lack of trained providers, low uptake of services by women and infrastructure all contribute to the high rate of maternal deaths. A by strong cultural and traditional ties also deter women from delivering at health centres. Another contributing factor to this is the inaccessibility of healthcare in rural Bangladesh where a recent government health assessment on Primary Health Care found that 512 unions had no healthcare facilities from Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) or Directorate General of Family Planning (DGFP). Deputy Director PHC of DGHS Pabitra Kumar Sikder, said among 63% of deliveries were at home while 37% were at medical centres. United Nations’ Population Fund (UNFPA) Country representative to Bangladesh, Argentina Piccin Metavel urged to establish a strong midwifery services and regular evaluation and monitoring by the concern authorities.

Source: Dhaka Tribune October 24, 2016 18:45 UTC