Marginalized and Privileged Caste Differences in Full Antenatal Care Utilization: Insights from National Survey Data
1
Geography, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India
Popul. Med. 2026;8(Supplement Supplement 1):
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION:
This study examines factors influencing full Antenatal Care (ANC) utilization among Scheduled Caste women in India, who face historically low uptake compared to privileged castes, contributing to the country's high maternal mortality rate.
METHODS:
The latest round of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5), 2019-21, provided data for the present study. Bivariate statistics and binary logistic regression were employed to examine the association between the key factors and ANC utilisation.
RESULTS:
Findings from the odds ratio suggested that Scheduled Caste women aged 40-44 years had twice the likelihood (OR: 2.02, 95% CI: 1.42-2.85), while Muslim Scheduled Caste women had 33% lower odds (OR: 0.67, 0.50-0.90) of receiving full ANC. Scheduled Caste from the richest wealth quintile had 83% higher odds (OR:1.83, 1.54-2.17), while rural women had 41% lower odds (OR:0.59, 0.54-0.64) of receiving full ANC. Scheduled caste mothers with 2 children had 24% lower odds (OR:0.76, 0.70-0.83), and those from South India had more than twice the likelihood (OR:2.25, 2.04-2.48) of receiving full ANC.
CONCLUSIONS:
The study addresses the need for targeted intervention in the underutilised regions of the country, calling for an increase in education, a decrease in parity and a rise in mass media exposure among the Scheduled Caste women in India.
This study examines factors influencing full Antenatal Care (ANC) utilization among Scheduled Caste women in India, who face historically low uptake compared to privileged castes, contributing to the country's high maternal mortality rate.
METHODS:
The latest round of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5), 2019-21, provided data for the present study. Bivariate statistics and binary logistic regression were employed to examine the association between the key factors and ANC utilisation.
RESULTS:
Findings from the odds ratio suggested that Scheduled Caste women aged 40-44 years had twice the likelihood (OR: 2.02, 95% CI: 1.42-2.85), while Muslim Scheduled Caste women had 33% lower odds (OR: 0.67, 0.50-0.90) of receiving full ANC. Scheduled Caste from the richest wealth quintile had 83% higher odds (OR:1.83, 1.54-2.17), while rural women had 41% lower odds (OR:0.59, 0.54-0.64) of receiving full ANC. Scheduled caste mothers with 2 children had 24% lower odds (OR:0.76, 0.70-0.83), and those from South India had more than twice the likelihood (OR:2.25, 2.04-2.48) of receiving full ANC.
CONCLUSIONS:
The study addresses the need for targeted intervention in the underutilised regions of the country, calling for an increase in education, a decrease in parity and a rise in mass media exposure among the Scheduled Caste women in India.
| eISSN: | 2654-1459 |
We process personal data collected when visiting the website. The function of obtaining information about users and their behavior is carried out by voluntarily entered information in forms and saving cookies in end devices. Data, including cookies, are used to provide services, improve the user experience and to analyze the traffic in accordance with the Privacy policy. Data are also collected and processed by Google Analytics tool (more).
You can change cookies settings in your browser. Restricted use of cookies in the browser configuration may affect some functionalities of the website.
You can change cookies settings in your browser. Restricted use of cookies in the browser configuration may affect some functionalities of the website.
