Traditional Beliefs and Learning about Maternal Risk in Zambia

Abstract

International audienceMaternal mortality remains very high in many parts of the developing world, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. While maternal deaths are observable, it may not be straightforward for individuals to learn about risk factors. This paper utilizes novel data on male and female perceptions of maternal risk in Zambia to document that superstitions about causes of maternal mortality are pervasive and to uncover evidence that such beliefs impede learning about maternal health risk levels and correlates. In our data, people who hold traditional beliefs disregard past birth complications completely in assessing future risk, unlike those who hold modern beliefs

Bride Price and Female Education

“…For non-bride price couples, the median is only 4%, and the mean is 37% (Appendix Table A4). 13 We find a similar pattern in Zambia, where we examine information from peri-urban Lusaka that was collected using a module we created and implemented within the Zambia Fertility Preferences Survey (ZFPS) (Ashraf et al, 2017). 14 Linking couples to traditional bride price customs using the self-reported ethnicity of the wife, we find that both groups tend to have some payment at marriage, but that the size of the payment is much larger for bride price groups.…”

“…The sample includes all women from the relevant data source for which a bride price payment was reported. Data for Indonesia are from the 2001 and 2007 rounds of the Indonesia Family Life Survey.Data for Zambia are from a special module implemented in the first wave of the ZFPS in the Fall of 2014(Ashraf et al, 2017). The indicator variables for senior secondary school attainment, I SeniorSecondary i and I H:SeniorSecondary i , are measured slightly di↵erently in Indonesia and Zambia.…”

Does paternity leave reduce fertility?

“…Another potential channel could have been that fathers' increased involvement in childcare lowered their desired fertility. Recent work has shown, in the context of developing countries, that providing information to fathers regarding the cost of having children can lower their desired fertility, as well as families' actual completed fertility, in settings where men desire more children than women and may also enjoy higher bargaining power (Ashraf et al 2017).…”

Evaluating oral HIV self-testing to increase HIV testing uptake among truck drivers in Kenya

“…Consistent with this tradition, survey data from our study area indicate that men are less likely to have known women who have died in childbirth, and have a more limited understanding of the risk factors compared to their wives. In addition, the belief that infidelity is the primary cause of health complications at delivery is widespread in many Sub-Saharan African countries, including Zambia (Maimbolwa 2004;Lawoyin et al 2007;Ashraf et al 2017).…”