Women’s empowerment and the use of antenatal care services: analysis of demographic health surveys in five Southeast Asian countries

ABSTRACTWomen’s empowerment and use of antenatal care (ANC) services remain important in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). This assessed the association between women’s empowerment and ANC use in five ASEAN countries. ANC information for the most recent births of 29,444 currently married women in the last 5 years preceding the Demographic Health Survey was analyzed (Cambodia [DHS2014], Indonesia [DHS2012], Myanmar [DHS2015-2016], Philippines [DHS2013], and Timor-Leste [DHS2009]). Analyses used multiple logistic regression adjusting for complex sampling designs. The number of ANC visits was positively associated with labor-force participation in Cambodia, the Philippines, and Timor-Leste; with disagreement with justification for wife beating and women’s knowledge level in Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar; and with women’s decision-making power in Cambodia and Indonesia. The association of women’s empowerment variables with timing of the first ANC visit was not as evident as that for number of...