Women’s decision-making autonomy and utilisation of maternal healthcare services: results from the Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to determine the association between women's decision-making power and utilisation of maternal healthcare services (MHS) among Bangladeshi women. SETTINGS: This is a nationally representative survey that encompassed Dhaka, Rajshahi, Rangpur, Chittagong, Khulna, Barisal and Sylhet in Bangladesh. Sample households were selected by a two-stage stratification technique. First, 207 clusters in urban areas and 393 in rural areas were selected for 600 enumeration areas with proportional probability. In the second stage, on average 30 households were selected systematically from the enumeration areas. Finally, 17 989 households were selected for the survey of which 96% were interviewed successfully. PARTICIPANTS: Cross-sectional data on 4309 non-pregnant women were collected from Bangladesh demographic and health survey 2014. Decision-making…