In:
PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science (PLoS), Vol. 17, No. 1 ( 2022-1-13), p. e0262688-
Abstract:
Considering the persistent poor maternal and child health outcomes in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), this study undertook a comparative analysis of the timing and adequacy of antenatal care uptake between women (aged 20–24 years) who married before age 18 and those who married at age 18 or above. Method Data came from Demographic and Health Surveys of 20 SSA countries. We performed binary logistic regression analysis on pooled data of women aged 20–24 (n = 33,630). Results Overall, the percentage of child brides in selected countries was 57.1%, with the lowest prevalence found in Rwanda (19.1%) and the highest rate in Chad (80.9%). Central and West African countries had the highest prevalence of child marriage compared to other sub-regions. Bivariate results indicate that a lower proportion of child brides (50.0%) had 4+ ANC visits compared to the adult brides (60.9%) and a lower percentage of them (34.0%) initiated ANC visits early compared to the adult brides (37.5%). After controlling for country of residence and selected socio-economic and demographic characteristics, multivariable results established significantly lower odds of having an adequate/prescribed number of ANC visits among women who married before age 15 (OR: 0.63, CI: 0.57–0.67, p 〈 0.001), and women who married at ages 15–17 (OR: 0.81, CI: 0.75–0.84, p 〈 0.001) compared to those who married at age 18+. Similar results were established between age at first marriage and timing of first ANC visit. Other interesting results emerged that young women who married earlier than age 18 and those who married at age 18+ differ significantly by several socio-economic and demographic characteristics. Conclusion Efforts to improve maternal and child health outcomes in SSA must give attention to address the underutilization and late start of antenatal care uptake among child brides.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
1932-6203
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0262688
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0262688.g001
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0262688.t001
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0262688.t002
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0262688.t003
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0262688.t004
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0262688.t005
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0262688.s001
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0262688.s002
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0262688.r001
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0262688.r002
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0262688.r003
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0262688.r004
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0262688.r005
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0262688.r006
Language:
English
Publisher:
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Publication Date:
2022
detail.hit.zdb_id:
2267670-3
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