Maternal health service demand analysis and maternal health in Indonesia

One of Indonesian’s unachieved Millennium Development Goal (MDG) targets is the maternal mortality ratio (MMR). Some causes of a high MMR are lack of access to maternal health-care services and inadequate prenatal care. This study aims to investigate the effects of women’s socioeconomic status and other factors on maternal health in Indonesia. The study used the 2012 Indonesia Demographic and Health Survey (IDHS) data. The survey was conducted from May 7 to July 31, 2012. The IDHS is a nationally representative survey of reproductive women ages 15-49 years old, with a total sample of 45,607 women. Bivariate probit regression was employed to assess the impact of women’s socioeconomic status and other factors on maternal health. The results indicate that women’s socioeconomic status is an indirect factor that statistically significantly affects maternal health. It has an impact through the adequate use of maternal health-care services. Improving women’s socioeconomic status to enable them to use maternal health services will be beneficial in reducing maternal mortality.