Background: Bangladesh is among the countries that have had a significant decline
in maternal mortality. One important measure taken to reduce maternal mortality is to
ensure that more women give birth in hospitals, where competent professional staffs
are available in the event of complications. Bangladesh has experienced a significant
increase in the proportion of women who give birth in hospitals while other countries
struggle to achieve this goal. It is critical for these countries to draw lessons from
Bangladesh’s success. However, the factors contributing to the success (i.e. increase
in hospital births) are not obvious. The purpose of this study is to reach an
understanding of why so many more women have chosen to give births in hospitals.
Objectives: To identify the potential explanations for the observed increase in
institutional deliveries in Bangladesh.