Maternal socio-demographic characteristics and foetal losses: An analysis of data from 2013/14 Zambia Demographic and Health Survey
type: CreativeWork
description: OBJECTIVES: To determine social and demographic characteristics of mothers that were risk factors for pregnancy losses and; assess the relative importance of respective socioeconomic and demographic characteristics of mothers in determining the risk of losing a pregnancy METHODOLOGY: This was a cross-sectional, quantitative design that used data from the 2013/14 ZDHS. Binary logistic regression models were fitted to the data to explore and determine maternal factors associated with pregnancy losses among Zambian women aged 15-49. A total of 2399 cases were selected from the women’s questionnaire sub dataset. The following variables were selected: Age of the mother, education, Body Mass Index, Children ever born, Family planning use, marital status, STI symptoms and age at first child. RESULTS: Ten and half percent of the women reported having lost a pregnancy in the 12 months before the interview and nearly 75 percent did so within three months of pregnancy. When all variables were considered together, education and BMI, were not statistically significantly (α=0.05). The older the woman (older than19 years) the higher the risk of pregnancy loss, (OR=2.79; 95% CI, 1.45-5.35) for those aged 30-34, (OR=2.53; 95% CI, 1.50-4.29) for those aged 20-29 and (OR=2.51; 95% CI, 1.28-4.92) for those aged 35+. The risk of losing a pregnancy reduced with increasing number of Children Ever born (CEB) (OR=0.40; 95% CI, 0.21-0.74) for CEB=1, (OR=0.14; 95% CI, 0.07-0.28) for those with 5+ children. Having had STI symptoms, significantly increased twofold the odds of losing a pregnancy (OR=2.33; 95% CI, 1.35-4.02). Women who had their first child from 17-19 years, were 32 percent less likely (OR=0.68; 95% CI, 0.47- 1.00) and those who started child bearing after 19 years, were 54 percent less likely (OR=0.46; 95% CI, 0.29-0.73) to have lost a pregnancy than those who had their first child before 17 years of age. Women who were currently using a family planning (FP) method were about 34…
abstract: OBJECTIVES: To determine social and demographic characteristics of mothers that were risk factors for pregnancy losses and; assess the relative importance of respective socioeconomic and demographic characteristics of mothers in determining the risk of losing a pregnancy METHODOLOGY: This was a cross-sectional, quantitative design that used data from the 2013/14 ZDHS. Binary logistic regression models were fitted to the data to explore and determine maternal factors associated with pregnancy losses among Zambian women aged 15-49. A total of 2399 cases were selected from the women’s questionnaire sub dataset. The following variables were selected: Age of the mother, education, Body Mass Index, Children ever born, Family planning use, marital status, STI symptoms and age at first child. RESULTS: Ten and half percent of the women reported having lost a pregnancy in the 12 months before the interview and nearly 75 percent did so within three months of pregnancy. When all variables were considered together, education and BMI, were not statistically significantly (α=0.05). The older the woman (older than19 years) the higher the risk of pregnancy loss, (OR=2.79; 95% CI, 1.45-5.35) for those aged 30-34, (OR=2.53; 95% CI, 1.50-4.29) for those aged 20-29 and (OR=2.51; 95% CI, 1.28-4.92) for those aged 35+. The risk of losing a pregnancy reduced with increasing number of Children Ever born (CEB) (OR=0.40; 95% CI, 0.21-0.74) for CEB=1, (OR=0.14; 95% CI, 0.07-0.28) for those with 5+ children. Having had STI symptoms, significantly increased twofold the odds of losing a pregnancy (OR=2.33; 95% CI, 1.35-4.02). Women who had their first child from 17-19 years, were 32 percent less likely (OR=0.68; 95% CI, 0.47- 1.00) and those who started child bearing after 19 years, were 54 percent less likely (OR=0.46; 95% CI, 0.29-0.73) to have lost a pregnancy than those who had their first child before 17 years of age. Women who were currently using a family planning (FP) method were about 34…
author: Chishimba, Paul
language: en
keywords: Zambia-Statistics, Medical, Miscarriage-Zambia-Statistics, Prenatal Death-Statistics
date published: 2016
date modified: 2026-07-27T22:05:59Z
provider: University of Zambia
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: University of Zambia