Impact of Recurrent Floods on the Utilization of Maternal and Newborn Healthcare in Bangladesh

Baten, Abdul; Wallemacq, Pascaline; van Loenhout, Joris Adriaan Frank; Guha-Sapir, Debarati

doi:10.1007/s10995-020-02917-3

Published: 13 April 2020

Impact of Recurrent Floods on the Utilization of Maternal and Newborn Healthcare in Bangladesh

Abdul Baten^1,2,
Pascaline Wallemacq²,
Joris Adriaan Frank van Loenhout² &
Debarati Guha-Sapir²

Maternal and Child Health Journal volume 24, pages 748–758 (2020)Cite this article

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Abstract

Objective

Floods are one of the most common types of disasters in Bangladesh and lead to direct and indirect impacts on health. The aim of the study was to assess the impact of floods on Maternal and Newborn Healthcare (MNH) utilization in Bangladesh between the years 2011 and 2014.

Methods

We used variables from the Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey 2014 data and georeferenced data of floods between 2011 and 2014 from the Emergency Events Database. Multivariate logistic regression was used to determine whether the flood-affected exposures were significant in predicting differences in MNH utilization.

Results

The odds for the received antenatal care by skilled providers, institutional deliveries, deliveries by c-section, and postnatal care of the babies were significantly lower (Unadjusted OR = 0.81, 0.88, 0.83, and 0.82 respectively; P < 0.05) in the flood-affected area than the non-affected area. Additionally, the odds of postnatal checkup of women was statistically significant (P < 0.001) and less likely to be received in flood-affected area (OR = 0.76). The odds of all indicators were significantly lower (OR < 1) for the women living in the twice and four times flooded areas compared to the once flooded areas.

Conclusions for Practice

The study shows that floods can have a negative impact on MNH utilization. In addition, repeated floods have a worse impact on MNH utilization than incidental floods. Extra effort should be put on ensuring access to MNH of women in flood-affected areas.

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Affiliations

Department of Statistics, Jagannath University, Dhaka, 1100, Bangladesh
Abdul Baten
Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED), Institute of Health and Society, Université Catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium
Abdul Baten, Pascaline Wallemacq, Joris Adriaan Frank van Loenhout & Debarati Guha-Sapir

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Abdul Baten
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Pascaline Wallemacq
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Joris Adriaan Frank van Loenhout
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Debarati Guha-Sapir
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Correspondence to Abdul Baten.

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Baten, A., Wallemacq, P., van Loenhout, J.A.F. et al. Impact of Recurrent Floods on the Utilization of Maternal and Newborn Healthcare in Bangladesh. Matern Child Health J 24, 748–758 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-020-02917-3

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Published: 13 April 2020
Issue Date: June 2020
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-020-02917-3

Keywords

Bangladesh
Maternal
Newborn
Healthcare
Utilization
Flood-affected