Determinants of Childbirth Assistance in the Remote Islands of the Indian Sundarbans

Background: India contributes to almost 70 percent of the maternal mortality in South East Asia. Improving access to skilled attendance at birth is crucial for addressing the issue of maternal deaths in the Indian context while majority of women deliver her child at home. Several issues of inaccessibility due to cost, distance, and lack of services still persist. The present research article, thus, discusses the determinants of child delivery care practices in a rural region like the Sundarbans in West Bengal, India. Methods: A household survey was conducted in the Patharpratima block of the Indian Sundarbans. A total of 1200 households were sampled using a two stage cluster sampling from 30 villages. Mothers were interviewed regarding child delivery practice of their youngest child along with other socio-demographic variables. Data analysis involves a multinomial logistic regression using STATA IC 10. Results: Child Delivery was assisted by formal providers in 48 percent of the cases, by informal providers in 30 percent cases and friends or relatives in 22 percent cases. Geographical location of the household, caste and religion, mother’s education and birth order were statistically significant predictors. Conclusion: Sundarbans as geographically isolated rural regions of the country face serious issue of inaccessibility. Following it high preference for home delivery and henceforth higher dependence on unskilled personnel for delivery in the region calls for specific plans to address the inaccessibility issue.