Last updated January 2009
Authors:
Mama Ouattara; Souleymane Sadio Diallo; Eric Koffi Kouadio; Yaya Ouattara; Cleopatre Kablan
Abstract:
The objective of this paper was to analyse the incidence of access to reproductive healthcare on children’s birth weight. The choice of birth weight as a health indicator is justified by the fact that this variable is highly correlated with the newborns’ probability of survival and of their later physical development.
We first tried out several estimation techniques that enabled us to identify the determining factors of the demand for reproductive health services in general and the demand for antitetanus vaccination during pregnancy in particular.
The results indicate that the mother’s vaccination against tetanus during pregnancy has a positive and significant effect on the child’s birth weight. In addition, it appears that this effect is greater among poor households than among non-poor households. For this reason, the widening of vaccination coverage and access to antenatal healthcare can be an important instrument of poverty reduction.
Contact Information:
Mama Ouattara,
omama@gpe-afriqe.org; Souleymane Sadio Diallo,
ssadio_tr@yahoo.fr; Eric koffi Kouadio,
kdioeck@yahoo.fr; Yaya Ouattara,
ouattarayaya@yahoo.fr; Cleopatre Kablan,
cleopatrek@yahoo.fr, Côte d’Ivoire Centre for Economic and Social Research