Progress on maternal health care in Vietnam: Findings from Vietnam Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 2000, 2006, 2011, and 2014

• Published in: Health care for women international 2018-04, Vol.39 (4), p.368-376
• Main Authors: Chuong, Nguyen Canh, Van Minh, Hoang, Thi Thuy Duong, Doan, Duc, Duong Minh, Anh Dao, Le Thi, Duy Anh, Nguyen
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Childbirth & labor; Economic status; Health care delivery; Health disparities; Health status; Higher education; Inequality; Maternal & child health; Maternal characteristics; Nursing; Perinatal care; Polls & surveys; Prenatal care; Quality of care; Socioeconomic factors; Women
• ISSN: 0739-9332; 1096-4665
• DOI: 10.1080/07399332.2017.1405960

This paper aims to describe a trend in coverage of maternal care services, and provides a detailed analysis of socio-economic correlations to the existing inequities. The paper uses data from the Vietnam Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 2000, 2006, 2011, and 2014. In the MICS, there were 9,117 women in 2000, 9,473 women in 2006, 11,614 women in 2011, and 9,827 women in 2014 participated in. We found the coverage of antenatal care increase from 68.6% in 2000 to 95.9% in 2014. Similarly, the percentages of women who gave birth with the assistance of skilled staff increased during the studied period ( from 69.9% in 2000, 87.7% to 94.5% in 2014). However, improvements in antenatal care and skilled birth attendance in Vietnam have been uneven across different segments of the population. In all the four surveys, the proportions of women who received ANC by a skilled staff and percentages of women who gave birth with the assistance of a skilled health personnel were much higher among those with higher education, belonged to Kinh majority tribe, had better economic status, and lived in an urban area. The degrees of inequity in both antenatal and delivery care in Vietnam are likely to increase over time.