Department of Agricultural Economics and Extension, North-West University Mafikeng Campus, Mmabatho 2735, South Africa.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2018 Dec 10;15(12):2814. doi: 10.3390/ijerph15122814.
Reduction in child mortality is a demographic progress of significant socioeconomic development relevance in Africa. This paper analyzed the effect of maternal education and fertility on child survival in the Islands of Comoros. The 2012 Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) data were used. A two-stage probit regression method was used for data analysis. The results showed that about 75% of the children's mothers had given birth to between one and five children, while more than half did not have any form of formal education. The results of the two-stage probit regression showed that while child survival reduced significantly ( < 0.05) with the age of the heads of households, residence in the Ngazidja region, being born as twins, mother's number of business trips, and number of marital unions, it increased with maternal education, fertility, male household headship, and the child being breastfed immediately after birth. It was concluded that efforts to enhance maternal education would reduce child mortality. It is also critical to promote child breastfeeding among women, while regional characteristics promoting differences in child mortality in Comoros Islands should be properly addressed with keen focus on the Ngazidja region.
降低儿童死亡率是非洲具有重大社会经济发展意义的人口学进步。本文分析了科摩罗群岛孕产妇教育和生育率对儿童生存的影响。使用了 2012 年人口与健康调查（DHS）数据。数据分析采用两阶段概率回归法。结果表明，约 75%的儿童母亲生育了 1 至 5 个孩子，而超过一半的母亲没有接受任何形式的正规教育。两阶段概率回归的结果表明，尽管随着户主年龄的增长（<0.05）、居住在 Ngazidja 地区、双胞胎出生、母亲出差次数和婚姻结合次数的增加，儿童的存活率显著降低，但随着母亲教育、生育率、男性户主和儿童出生后立即母乳喂养的增加，儿童的存活率也有所提高。研究结论认为，努力提高孕产妇教育水平将降低儿童死亡率。促进妇女母乳喂养也很重要，而科摩罗群岛区域特征对儿童死亡率的差异应得到妥善处理，并重点关注 Ngazidja 地区。
