How economic empowerment reduces women's reproductive health vulnerability in Tanzania

Abstract

This article uses data from Northern Tanzania to analyse how economic empowerment helps women reduce their reproductive health (RH) vulnerability. It analyses the effect of women's employment and economic contribution to their household on health care use at three phases in the reproductive cycle: before pregnancy, during pregnancy and at child birth. Economic empowerment shows a positive effect on health seeking behaviour during pregnancy and at child birth, which remains robust after controlling for bargaining power and selection bias. This indicates that any policy that increases women's economic empowerment can have a direct positive impact on women's RH.