Income inequality and adolescent fertility in low-income countries

Castro, Rubén; Fajnzylber, Eduardo

doi:10.1590/0102-311x00203615

Cited by 7 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 23 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Further analysis revealed that the odds LBW were higher among babies born to teenage mothers (age less than 20 years) and low among babies of mothers older than 30 years albeit not significant, which agrees well with several other studies [23, 27–33] including findings of the 2010 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey [4]. This may be due to poor socioeconomic status, maternal malnutrition, and inadequate antenatal care of teenage mothers as these factors have been reported to influence birth weight of babies born to teenage mothers in low-and-middle-income countries [34–36]. Additionally, biological immaturity and other behavioural factors may have aggravated the increased risk of LBW among teenage mothers.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 87%

Maternal obstetric and socio-demographic determinants of low birth weight: a retrospective cross-sectional study in Ghana

Mohammed¹,

Bonsing

Yakubu

et al. 2019

Reprod Health

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background Birth weight is an important predictor of early neonatal mortality, morbidity, and long-term health outcomes. Annually, approximately 20 million babies are born globally with weights less than 2.5kg. In sub-Saharan Africa, the prevalence of LBW is around 13 to 15 percent. In Ghana, 10% of babies born in 2014 were with LBW. The aim of this study was to identify maternal socio-demographic and obstetric risk factors associated with the birth weight of newborns in the Sunyani Municipality of Ghana. Methods This retrospective cross-sectional study analysed data from 931 birth records of all deliveries between January 1 and December 31, 2017, at the Sunyani Municipal Hospital in the Brong-Ahafo Region of Ghana. Univariate and multivariable logistic regression models were fitted to estimate the effect of maternal factors on low birth weight. Results We found that the mean age of the participants and the mean gestational age at birth were 27.21(SD = 5.50) years and 37.95(SD = 1.85) weeks respectively. Nearly 10% of the infants born within the study period had birth weights below 2.5kg. The findings revealed that the odds of delivering LBW baby were significantly high (OR 1.77, 95%CI 1.14-2.76) among urban dwellers. However, mothers who attended or completed secondary or higher education were 63% (95% CI 0.20–0.78) less likely to give birth to a LBW baby when compared with uneducated mothers. We found that the odds of LBW significantly decreased with every one-week increase in gestational age (OR 0.67 95%CI 0.59-0.76) and significantly increased with increasing parity (OR 1.43 95%CI 1.21-1.70). Further, the likelihood of delivering LBW baby decreased with every additional ANC visit (OR 0.78 95%CI 0.67-0.90) and with every additional gram of haemoglobin (OR 0.78 95%CI 0.63-0.95). Conclusion The evidence from this study suggests that maternal educational level, residence, haemoglobin level, parity, number of ANC visits, and gestational age are independent predictors of low birth weight. The current findings add substantially to the growing literature on the influence of maternal socio-demographic and obstetric factors on LBW in resource-constrained settings and provide empirical data for clinical and public health interventions aimed at reducing low birth weight and its associated complications.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 87%

Maternal obstetric and socio-demographic determinants of low birth weight: a retrospective cross-sectional study in Ghana

Mohammed¹,

Bonsing

Yakubu

et al. 2019

Reprod Health

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…54 Therefore, adolescents might have lower education levels, especially if they dropped out of education due to pregnancy and childrearing, and they might be more likely to supplement or wean earlier if they are returning back to school after childbirth. The effect of lower wealth among adolescent mothers compared with older mothers, [55][56][57][58] particularly availability of disposable income to purchase formula and other items necessary to formula feed, might contribute to higher rates and duration of breast feeding among adolescents. Examination of the effect of marital status on lactational amenorrhoea in general, and understanding of lactational amenorrhoea among unmarried adolescents in particular, is completely absent from the identified literature.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lactational amenorrhoea among adolescent girls in low-income and middle-income countries: a systematic scoping review

Figaroa

Bellizzi²,

Delvaux

et al. 2020

BMJ Glob Health

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

IntroductionFertility levels among adolescents remain high in many settings. The objective of this paper was to review the available literature about postpartum and lactational amenorrhoea among adolescents in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs).MethodsWe searched Medline, Embase, Global Health and CINAHL Plus databases using terms capturing adolescence and lactational or postpartum amenorrhoea. Inclusion criteria included publication date since 1990, data from LMICs, and topic related to lactational amenorrhoea as a postpartum family planning method or as an effect of (exclusive) breast feeding among adolescents. Thematic analysis and narrative synthesis were applied to summarise and interpret the findings.ResultsWe screened 982 titles and abstracts, reviewed 75 full-text articles and included nine. Eight studies assessed data from a single country (three from India, two from Bangladesh, two from Turkey, one from Nigeria). One study using Demographic and Health Survey data included 37 different LMICs. The five studies measuring duration of postpartum or lactational amenorrhoea reported a wide range of durations across the contexts examined. Four studies (from Bangladesh, Nigeria and Turkey) examined outcomes related to the use of lactational amenorrhoea as a family planning method among adolescents. We did not find any studies assessing adolescents’ knowledge of lactational amenorrhoea as a postpartum family planning method. Likewise, little is known about the effectiveness of lactational amenorrhoea method among adolescents using sufficiently large samples and follow-up time.ConclusionThe available evidence on lactational amenorrhoea among adolescents in LMICs is scarce. Given the potential contribution of lactational amenorrhoea to prevention of short interpregnancy intervals among adolescents and young women, there is a need for a better understanding of the duration of lactational amenorrhoea, and the knowledge and effective use of lactational amenorrhoea method for family planning among adolescents in a wider range of LMIC settings.

show abstract

“…In high-income agricultural societies, parents tend to need relatively fewer children (using modern contraceptives). In contrast, in lower-income societies, women want many children, and adolescents are more likely to experience unwanted and poorly timed pregnancies ( 4 , 46 , 47 ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The pooled estimate of the total fertility rate in sub-Saharan Africa using recent (2010–2018) Demographic and Health Survey data

Tesfa

Tiruneh

Gebremariam

et al. 2023

Front. Public Health

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BackgroundEven though the total fertility rate (TFR) has decreased significantly over the past decades in many countries, it has remained stable in sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries. However, there is variation among the sub-regions and inhabitants of SSA. Therefore, this study aimed to conduct a meta-analysis of demographic and health surveys (DHS) to estimate the pooled level of TFR in SSA and to depict sub-regional and inhabitant differences.MethodsThe data source for this study was the standard Demographic and Health Survey datasets of 33 sub-Saharan African countries, accessed through www.meaasuredhs.com between 2010 and 2018. The point estimate of the total fertility rate with its corresponding standard error in each sub-Saharan African country was estimated using the DHS.rates R package. Using the point estimate of the TFR with the standard error of each country, the pooled estimate of the TFR was generated by the metan STATA command.ResultsThe study comprised 1,324,466 live births in total. The pooled estimate of sub-Saharan Africa's overall fertility rate was five children per woman (95% CI: 4.63–5.37). Consequently, the pooled estimate of total fertility for people living in urban and rural areas was 3.90 (95% CI: 3.60–4.21) and 5.82 (95% CI: 5.43–6.21) children per woman, respectively. In sub-group analysis, the pooled estimates of the TFR for the East African, Central African, Southern African, and West African regions, respectively, were 4.74, 5.59, 3.18, and 5.38 children per woman. Total fertility rates were greater in low-income nations (5.45), lower-middle-income countries (4.70), and high-middle-income countries (3.80).ConclusionsSSA has a relatively high total fertility rate. The regions of West and Central Africa have the highest overall fertility rate. The fertility rate is higher in countries with a large rural population and low income. Strategies should be developed to address this public health concern, especially in rural Central and Western Africa.

show abstract

Income inequality and adolescent fertility in low-income countries

Cited by 7 publications

References 23 publications

Maternal obstetric and socio-demographic determinants of low birth weight: a retrospective cross-sectional study in Ghana

Maternal obstetric and socio-demographic determinants of low birth weight: a retrospective cross-sectional study in Ghana

Lactational amenorrhoea among adolescent girls in low-income and middle-income countries: a systematic scoping review

The pooled estimate of the total fertility rate in sub-Saharan Africa using recent (2010–2018) Demographic and Health Survey data

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About