Association of sociodemographic and maternal healthcare factors with birth registration in Angola.

OBJECTIVES

Angola has a high burden of unregistered children and efforts to increase birth-registration coverage have not yielded the desired progress. This study aimed to examine sociodemographic and healthcare-related factors associated with birth registration in Angola.

STUDY DESIGN

Secondary data analysis of the Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Handbook randomised controlled trial conducted in Benguela province, Angola and involving 11,006 women.

METHODS

For this analysis, we excluded women with missing data on birth registration (n = 1424), multiple gestation (n = 243), and those with infant death (n = 6). The final study population included 9333 women with infants under one year of age. We used multilevel mixed-effects logistic regression analysis to determine sociodemographic and healthcare-related factors associated with the registration of a child's birth.

RESULTS

Of the 9333 live births, 25% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 13.4-41.8) were registered, while 21% (95%CI = 11.1-35.7) were registered with certificate. There were higher proportions of registered births among mothers who possessed the MCH Handbook across various demographic and healthcare indicators. Birth registration was most significantly associated with facility-based delivery (odds ratio [OR] = 2.97; 95%CI = 2.45-3.61), possession of MCH Handbook (OR = 2.04; 95%CI = 1.70-2.46), and complete scheduled vaccination visits (OR = 1.69; 95%CI = 1.44-1.97). Higher maternal age and education level, belonging to the highest wealth quintile, beginning antenatal care in the first trimester, attending at least four antenatal care visits, and using postnatal care services were positively associated with registration of birth.

CONCLUSION

Maternal healthcare factors showed significant associations with birth registration and integrating birth-registration processes with certain maternal and child health services may further raise awareness and boost registration levels in Angola.