MDG Health Goal 2015: The Untold Stories of Reproductive Health

Reproductive health care services in Bangladesh are inadequate to say the least. Rural women have little or no access to health care services and remain reluctant to consult a doctor due to lack of encouragement from family members and their tendency to rely heavily on traditional healer’s medicine. There is inadequate research in regard to the causes such as beliefs and attitudes towards reproductive health among Bangladeshi women. This study used two tiered qualitative research methodology employing in-depth one-to-one interviews and focus group discussions using semi-structure questions; to confirm and validate the data collected from three villages in Rajshahi, Bangladesh. During the fieldwork, 30 one-to-one interviews and three focus group discussions were conducted using snowball sampling technique. The findings reveal three critical themes regarding rural women’s belief and attitudes toward reproductive health - a strong belief in traditional healers; a firm belief of following in-laws and seniors/elders, and superstitions regarding fertility, pregnancy and child-birth.