A Magyarorszagi Varandosgondozasi Rendszer Sajatossagai: A Magan- Es Allami Ellatasok Igenybevetele Mogott Huzodo Egyenlotlensegek

Introduction: While pregnant women in Hungary are entitled to complex pregnancy care financed by the social se- curity system, many of them do use private services. This decision is motivated, among other things, by increasing the sense of security and ensuring the presence of the doctor providing pregnancy care at the birth. However, based on the international literature, it can be assumed that this decision is influenced by the socio-economic background as well. Objective: The aim of the present analysis is to examine the extent to which the use of public/private/mixed funded pregnancy care is related to certain demographic, socioeconomic, health related and psychological variables on a representative sample of pregnant women in Hungary.Method: The analysis was performed on the weighted data of the first, pregnant wave of the Cohort '18 Growing Up in Hungary (n = 8287). The analysis is based on data from personal interviews and self-administered questionnaires conducted by the health visitors among pregnant women in 2018. Results: The use of different forms of pregnancy care was strongly related to the age of the pregnant women, their education, financial situation and occupational prestige. It was moderately correlated with the pregnant woman's partnership status and their parity, while it was weakly correlated with her health status and psychological symptoms. The form of financing of the pregnancy care was, however, strongly related to whether the pregnant woman planned to give birth with a chosen doctor or midwife. Discussion: The results show that the use of different forms of pregnancy care is greatly associated with the socioeco- nomic and demographic characteristics of the pregnant women, while it is only weakly related to the health status and mental wellbeing. Conclusion: Double funding in the Hungarian pregnancy care system carries a whole range of background inequali- ties. Future analyses should examine whether this has an impact on the quality and availability of care and, indirectly, on the health of pregnant women and their children.