Relationship between income generating activities of rural women and their reproductive health behavior in Bangladesh

INTRODUCTION: The objective of the study was to find out the effects of income generating activities of rural women and their reproductive health behavior (contraceptive use) in Bangladesh. METHODS: A cross-sectional study using a multi-stage sampling technique was carried out among 200 married rural women in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire on socioeconomic factors, income generating activities, women's empowerment in mobility, decision making and reproductive health behavior in terms of contraceptive use, number of children and desire for more children. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine the relationship between income generating activities and contraceptive use. RESULTS: Almost half (45.5%) of the participants were involved in income generating activities. A great majority (63.9%) worked year-round, two-thirds (75.0%) earned cash for their family and 21.3% were engaged in poultry farms. Women aged 26-35 years, members of any non-governmental organization and from a poor family were more likely to be engaged in income generating activities (≤0.001). Highly educated women worked more than their less educated counterparts and the opposite was true for their husbands (≤0.001). Almost half of the women (45.0%) did not use any contraceptive. Contraceptive use was significantly higher among working women (73.4%) than with non-working women (33.0%). Women engaged in income generating activities were more likely to use contraceptives compared to non-working women (odds ratio 5.6, 95% confidence interval 3.1-7.0, ≤0.001). RESULTS: Income generating activities seem to empower women, increase their likelihood of using contraception and are one of the key issues for changing the life of rural women in Bangladesh.