Effect of women’s intra-household bargaining power on postnatal and infant healthcare in rural Uganda–Results from a cross sectional survey in Kyenjojo district

Global estimates by the United Nations inter-agency group for child mortality show that as of 2017, under-five mortality rate had decreased by 58%, from an estimated rate of 93 deaths per 1000 live births in 1990 to 39 deaths per 1000 live births. In the same period, Uganda achieved noticeable progress with the risk of a child dying before five years of age decreasing by 71% from 187 to 49 deaths per 1000 live births (UNICEF Data, 2019; You et al., 2015), and under five mortality dropped from 177 to 64 per 1000 live births (Uganda Bureau of Statistics [UBOS] and ICF International, 2017). Despite significant improvements, utilization of maternal and child healthcare services still remains a major area of concern with substantial disparities amongst women living in developing countries, most especially those in the rural areas with unacceptably low levels of access to services.