Open AccessHigh Spending on Maternity Care in India: What Are the Factors Explaining It?
Author(s) -
Srinivas Goli,
Moradhvaj,
Anu Rammohan,
. Shruti,
Jalandhar Pradhan
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0156437
Subject(s) - childbirth , context (archaeology) , health care , maternity care , public expenditure , public health , residence , consumption (sociology) , environmental health , medicine , business , demographic economics , pregnancy , nursing , economics , economic growth , geography , public finance , genetics , macroeconomics , archaeology , biology , social science , sociology
Background and Objectives High maternity-related health care spending is often cited as an important barrier in utilizing quality health care during pregnancy and childbirth. This study has two objectives: (i) to measure the levels of expenditure on total maternity care in disaggregated components such as ANCs, PNCs, and Natal care expenditure; (ii) to quantify the extent of catastrophic maternity expenditure (CME) incurred by households and identify the factors responsible for it. Methods and Findings Data from the 71 st round of the National Sample Survey (2014) was used to estimate maternity expenditure and its predictors. CME was measured as a share of consumption expenditure by different cut-offs . The two-part model was used to identify the factors associated with maternity spending and CME. The findings show that household spending on maternity care (US$ 149 in constant price) is much higher than previous estimates (US$ 50 in constant price). A significant proportion of households in India (51%) are incurring CME. Along with economic and educational status, type of health care and place of residence emerged as significant factors in explaining CME. Conclusion Findings from this study assume importance in the context of an emerging demand for higher maternity entitlements and government spending on public health care in India. To reduce CME, India needs to improve the availability and accessibility of better-quality public health services and increase maternity entitlements in line with maternity expenditure identified in this study.