Mother's education and infant survival in Ethiopia

Bibliographic Data

ID19458892
AuthorsEndrias Liranso (0000-0001-6196-1751, Department of Sociology, School of Sociology and Political Science, Baoshan Campus Shanghai University Shanghai China), Fang Yang (0000-0003-0696-6650, Department of Social Work, School of Sociology and Political Science, Baoshan Campus Shanghai University Shanghai China, corresponding author)
Year2023
Volume35
Issue10
Pagese23965-e23965
Publication date2023-10-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAmerican Journal of Human Biology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1042-0533 • E-ISSN: 1520-6300
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/ajhb.23965
PMID37482963
OpenAlexW4385075222
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited36

OBJECTIVE: Few studies in Ethiopia have explored the impact of the mothers' education on infant survival. Therefore, this study aimed to identify and analyze the proximate factors in the relationship between maternal education and infant survival in Ethiopia. METHODS: This study used the nationally representative 2016 Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey dataset. It analyzed a sample of 3831 newborn children using Cox regression models. RESULTS: The findings revealed that infants born to educated mothers had lower odds of infant mortality than those born to mothers without formal education. Specifically, infants whose mothers had completed secondary school and had a better antenatal care attendance rate had 49.9% lower odds of infant mortality than those born to mothers with no formal education and a poor antenatal care attendance rate. Furthermore, infants whose mothers had at least some postsecondary education and who used delivery by health-care professionals, clean drinking water, and improved toilet facilities had 65.3%, 56.3%, and 68.6% lower odds of infant mortality, respectively, than those born to mothers with no formal education and who did not use those facilities. CONCLUSIONS: This study concluded that the mothers' educational disparity is intimately tied to infant mortality, and that access to formal education, mainly for women, increases infant survival in Ethiopia. Future research should focus on mothers without formal education who do not have access to antenatal care visits for safe pregnancy, delivery by health-care professionals, clean drinking water, and improved toilet facilities in Ethiopia and elsewhere in Sub-Saharan Africa

Attendance · Child mortality · Economic growth · Environmental health · Formal education · Infant mortality · Logistic regression · Odds · Odds ratio · Population · Toilet · Child Nutrition and Water Access · Demography · Global Maternal and Child Health · Medicine · Poverty, Education, and Child Welfare · Psychology · Pediatrics

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