Role of women's empowerment in determining fertility and reproductive health in Bangladesh: a systematic literature reviewAJOG Global Reports at a Glance
INTRODUCTION: Research on fertility and reproductive health has expanded rapidly. However, questions regarding the association between women empowerment and fertility in terms of the reproductive health status in Bangladesh remain unanswered. This study aimed to address these questions through a sys...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2023-08-01
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| Series: | AJOG Global Reports |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666577823000801 |
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| author | Shanjida Chowdhury, MSc Mohammad Meshbahur Rahman, MS Md. Aminul Haque, PhD |
| author_facet | Shanjida Chowdhury, MSc Mohammad Meshbahur Rahman, MS Md. Aminul Haque, PhD |
| author_sort | Shanjida Chowdhury, MSc |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | INTRODUCTION: Research on fertility and reproductive health has expanded rapidly. However, questions regarding the association between women empowerment and fertility in terms of the reproductive health status in Bangladesh remain unanswered. This study aimed to address these questions through a systematic literature review. METHODS: In this review study, the PubMed, Scopus, Banglajol, and Google Scholar databases were searched systematically and screened in terms of the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Data from 15 articles included in this review were extracted for further assessment. RESULTS: Fifteen studies with a total of 212,271 participants from Bangladesh met our selection criteria. Most of the articles were conducted on ever-married women aged 15 to 49 years using nationally representative Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey data. The major religions were Islam (86.8%–90.2%) and Hinduism (10%–13%). The age of women at first marriage varied from 14 to 20 years, and the age at first birth ranged from 16 to 22 years. The fertility rate in Bangladesh has reduced remarkably over the period from 1975 to 2022. After controlling for other social and health factors, the study found that empowerment factors such as women's education, working status, involvement in household decision-making, participation in economic decision-making, and freedom in movement influenced the fertility and reproductive health status in Bangladesh. CONCLUSION: As an initial step, this study found a negative relationship between women's empowerment and the control of fertility and reproductive health. Greater policy focus should be directed toward women empowerment factors to improve the fertility situation and reproductive health status in Bangladesh and other countries with similar sociodemographic profiles. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-13T03:28:55Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-faf276b54b9a42448b56eea944a8ef51 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2666-5778 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-13T03:28:55Z |
| publishDate | 2023-08-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
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| series | AJOG Global Reports |
| spelling | doaj.art-faf276b54b9a42448b56eea944a8ef512023-06-25T04:43:54ZengElsevierAJOG Global Reports2666-57782023-08-0133100239Role of women's empowerment in determining fertility and reproductive health in Bangladesh: a systematic literature reviewAJOG Global Reports at a GlanceShanjida Chowdhury, MSc0Mohammad Meshbahur Rahman, MS1Md. Aminul Haque, PhD2Department of Population Sciences, University of Dhaka, Dhaka, Bangladesh (Ms Chowdhury and Dr Haque); Southeast Business School, Southeast University, Dhaka, Bangladesh (Ms Chowdhury)Department of Biostatistics, National Institute of Preventive and Social Medicine, Mohakhali, Dhaka, Bangladesh (Mr Rahman).; Corresponding author: Mohammad Meshbahur Rahman, MS.Department of Population Sciences, University of Dhaka, Dhaka, Bangladesh (Ms Chowdhury and Dr Haque)INTRODUCTION: Research on fertility and reproductive health has expanded rapidly. However, questions regarding the association between women empowerment and fertility in terms of the reproductive health status in Bangladesh remain unanswered. This study aimed to address these questions through a systematic literature review. METHODS: In this review study, the PubMed, Scopus, Banglajol, and Google Scholar databases were searched systematically and screened in terms of the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Data from 15 articles included in this review were extracted for further assessment. RESULTS: Fifteen studies with a total of 212,271 participants from Bangladesh met our selection criteria. Most of the articles were conducted on ever-married women aged 15 to 49 years using nationally representative Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey data. The major religions were Islam (86.8%–90.2%) and Hinduism (10%–13%). The age of women at first marriage varied from 14 to 20 years, and the age at first birth ranged from 16 to 22 years. The fertility rate in Bangladesh has reduced remarkably over the period from 1975 to 2022. After controlling for other social and health factors, the study found that empowerment factors such as women's education, working status, involvement in household decision-making, participation in economic decision-making, and freedom in movement influenced the fertility and reproductive health status in Bangladesh. CONCLUSION: As an initial step, this study found a negative relationship between women's empowerment and the control of fertility and reproductive health. Greater policy focus should be directed toward women empowerment factors to improve the fertility situation and reproductive health status in Bangladesh and other countries with similar sociodemographic profiles.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666577823000801Bangladeshfertilityreproductive healthsystematic reviewwomen empowerment |
| spellingShingle | Shanjida Chowdhury, MSc Mohammad Meshbahur Rahman, MS Md. Aminul Haque, PhD Role of women's empowerment in determining fertility and reproductive health in Bangladesh: a systematic literature reviewAJOG Global Reports at a Glance AJOG Global Reports Bangladesh fertility reproductive health systematic review women empowerment |
| title | Role of women's empowerment in determining fertility and reproductive health in Bangladesh: a systematic literature reviewAJOG Global Reports at a Glance |
| title_full | Role of women's empowerment in determining fertility and reproductive health in Bangladesh: a systematic literature reviewAJOG Global Reports at a Glance |
| title_fullStr | Role of women's empowerment in determining fertility and reproductive health in Bangladesh: a systematic literature reviewAJOG Global Reports at a Glance |
| title_full_unstemmed | Role of women's empowerment in determining fertility and reproductive health in Bangladesh: a systematic literature reviewAJOG Global Reports at a Glance |
| title_short | Role of women's empowerment in determining fertility and reproductive health in Bangladesh: a systematic literature reviewAJOG Global Reports at a Glance |
| title_sort | role of women s empowerment in determining fertility and reproductive health in bangladesh a systematic literature reviewajog global reports at a glance |
| topic | Bangladesh fertility reproductive health systematic review women empowerment |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666577823000801 |
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