Effects of Maternal Immunization on Birth Weight in Rural Cameroon
Date
2021-01-20
Authors
Tambi, Mbu Daniel
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
African Economic Research consortium
Abstract
This study investigated the effects of tetanus immunization on birth weight in rural
Cameroon. Specifically, the study sought to: examine the determinants of mother’s
immunization in Cameroon; assess the impact of mother tetanus immunization
on child health production; examine how birth weight production function can
be estimated by area of residence and household income; and propose policy
implications on the basis of the findings. To tackle these objectives, the study used
the ordinary least square (OLS) model. Empirical results were based on pooled
data from the 2004 and 2011 demographic and health surveys (DHS) collected by
the government’s statistics office. The results showed that maternal immunization
during pregnancy was associated positively with birth weight, overall in rural and
urban areas, and among poor and non-poor households. Other variables that were
significantly associated with birth weight in rural Cameroon were: mother’s education
in years of schooling, mother’s age, father’s age, first twin birth, male child birth, nonpoor, interaction of mother’s and father’s education and urban household residence.
These results have implications for addressing child health concerns in the ongoing
process of growth, employment and poverty reduction in terms of improving access
to antenatal care and family planning in rural Cameroon.
Description
Keywords
Ordinary Least Square,