Reproductive health care services : a case study of belief and perception of rural indigenous women of Kakonhat in Bangladesh

Reproductive health care services are inadequate and often characterised as traditional in Bangladesh. This situation is intensified due to a lack of reproductive health care facilities, poverty and proper education. As a result, rural women are more skewed towards social and cultural beliefs about reproductive health. This study investigates these beliefs (often termed as myths) and the reasons of such beliefs. This study used one-to-one in-depth interview technique using semi-structured questions. The purposive and convenience sampling techniques were used to select five cases from a village for the purpose of this study. This study finds three main beliefs including malevolent, in-door stay, and following in-laws and seniors in terms of rural women’s maternity health. This study also finds that poverty plays a critical role for a sustained belief structure in the sampled area, where traditional healers are the ultimate winner. This study argues that poverty is the main reason for holding these beliefs firmly amongst rural and indigenous women and for accessing to a tradition healer, who is much cheaper and easier to access than a professional doctor. Based on these findings, this study develops a four grid belief–poverty framework. The findings of this study are an indication, only, of the current state of achieving one of the millennium development goals (MDGs) of Bangladesh, ‘improve maternal health’ (Goal 5), by 2015. This study could be a useful framework and a point of departure for including a particular and vulnerable women cohort of rural Bangladesh, and re-formulating relevant policies and strategies.