Women Empowerment and Antenatal Care Utilization in Bangladesh

This study attempts to examine the role of women empowerment in the utilization of antenatal care in Bangladesh. Four dimensions are considered to measure the women empowerment: the highest level of education, freedom of choice/movement, power in the household decision making process and involvement in economic activities. Factor analysis technique is employed to construct the last three dimensions. The probit and the zero-inflated negative binomial regression models are specified and estimated using the 2011 Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey data. Results show that all four dimensions of women empowerment contribute positively and significantly to the decision and intensity of utilization of antenatal care in Bangladesh. Findings of the study have a number of policy implications on this issue for a developing country like Bangladesh.