Husbands’ knowledge and awareness of pregnancy complications have a positive impact on their wives’ utilization of maternal health care services. In this study, we examined whether husbands’ knowledge and awareness of pregnancy complications can serve as determinants of maternal health service utilization among wives from the tribal population. This cross-sectional study was conducted in the rural Gadchrioli district of Maharashtra, India, during November 2014–March 2015. This study included a representative population-based sample of 385 men whose wives had given birth in last 2 years at the age of 15–49 years. A multistage sampling strategy was adopted to select the respondents. Univariate, bivariate, and binary logistic regression analyses were applied to examine the association between men’s knowledge and maternal health service utilization. The result revealed that an increase in husbands’ education level increased the wives’ utilization of antenatal (ANC) care services. The type of tribe also contributed to significant differences in ANC utilization (OR: 2.64; 95% CI: 0.847–8.24). Regarding standard of living, husbands who were poor were 22% less likely than husbands in the rich category to report the utilization of ANC by their wives. Men with partial or complete knowledge of pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum complications were more likely to utilize all maternal health services by their wives. The wives are of men who aware of complications during pregnancy and childbirth are more likely to use maternal health services. Therefore, educating and empowering men about pregnancy complications will contribute to the reduction in maternal and neonatal deaths.

The aim of this systematic review is to examine current evidence on the nature and extent of disrespect and abuse (D&A), mistreatment and practices of respectful maternity care of women during childbirth in India. Electronic databases were searched for published studies relevant to the topic. The search was conducted from May to September 2018. Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines were used to conduct the review. A results synthesis was done using the Bowser and Hill landscape analytical framework for D&A of women during childbirth. Eleven studies are included in this review of which six were cross-sectional, four were qualitative, and one used a mixed-method approach. The type of abuse most frequently reported was the lack of respect and dignity (nondignified care) experienced by the women, usually in the form of negative and unfriendly attitudes of the providers. The least frequent form of mistreatment was physical abuse and detention in the facilities. The frequency of reported D&A was high, ranging from 10% to 77.3%. These behaviors were influenced by lack of education and empowerment of the women, their low socioeconomic status, poor training of providers and supervision, and a lack of accountability. Overall, disrespectful and abusive behavior had adverse impact on the utilization of health facilities for childbirth. It created a psychological distance between women and health providers. To our knowledge, this is the first systematic literature review to be conducted on respectful maternity care in India.

Since time unmemorable, the caste system has been prevalent in Indian society. It has deeply developed roots in human minds, which leads to income inequality in the country. In the era of globalization and privatization, inequalities have extended to a large extent, which in turn has serious consequences for women and children’s health. In this article, an attempt has been made to understand the Caste, Income and Regional inequalities as determinants of health of women and children. For this study, the data are derived from the National Family Health Survey III conducted during 2005–2006. Bivariate and regression analysis has been done to understand the likelihood of health status of women and child in different categories. The results show that the scheduled tribes and schedule castes having poor wealth quintile and northern Indian women and children are at a greater disadvantage in all indicators of women and child health as compared to other groups.