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Multilevel Analysis of Childbearing in Childhood in Tanzania’s Rufiji District

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Abstract

Objectives To examine levels, trends and correlates of childbearing in childhood (CiC) in the Rufiji district of Tanzania from 2002 to 2010. Methods Using longitudinal data collected in, and by, the Rufiji health and demographic surveillance system in Tanzania from 2002 to 2010, all women who initiated childbearing in this period (n = 5491) were selected for analysis. CiC was defined as childbearing initiation before age 18. Data analysis involved one–way tabulations of each variable—most of which were socio-demographic—to obtain frequency distributions, cross-tabulations of CiC and each of the independent variables with a Chi square test for associations, and multivariate analysis using multilevel logistic regression to examine covariates of CiC. Results CiC was 44 % and remained constant over the 2002–2010 period (P = 0.623). The relative odds of CiC was significantly reduced by 83 percent among women with secondary or higher educational attainment relative to CiC among uneducated women (OR = 0.17, CI 0.12–0.23). Moreover, the odds of CiC significantly declines monotonically as relative household wealth increases by quintile (OR = 0.70, CI 0.57–0.86). CiC also declines significantly with employment and marital status of the respondent. Conclusions CiC represents a challenging social and health problem. Forty-four percent of first time mothers in Rufiji district of Tanzania are of childhood age, and this has not changed over the past 9 years since 2002. Prioritizing girls’ formal education—especially up to secondary level or higher—as well as devising some economic empowerment modalities, may be worthwhile measures towards curbing CiC in the study area.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are very thankful to the organizers and facilitators of the Mixed Methods Research and Publication Workshop which was held from 2nd to 6th June 2014 at Traveler’s Lodge in Bagamoyo, Tanzania where the idea was developed into a full draft. Elizabeth Jackson of the Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, is especially acknowledged for editing an early version of the manuscript. I extend my sincere appreciations to my fellow participants of the workshop for their presence and support—Kassimu Tani, Farida Hassan, Rose Kalage, Gloria Sikustahili, Hildegalda Prosper Mushi and the entire team. We extend special gratitude to Mallory C. Sheff of the Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University for proofreading this manuscript. The workshop was made possible through funds from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation (DDCF). The Rufiji HDSS is an active member of the INDEPTH Network.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ifakara Health Institute, P.O. Box 78373, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

    Amon Exavery, Almamy Malick Kanté, Sigilbert Mrema & Honorati Masanja

  2. Heilbrunn Department of Population and Family Health, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA

    Almamy Malick Kanté & James F. Phillips

  3. Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, University of Basel, Socinstrasse 57, 4002, Basel, Switzerland

    Almamy Malick Kanté

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  1. Amon Exavery
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Correspondence to Amon Exavery.

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Exavery, A., Kanté, A.M., Mrema, S. et al. Multilevel Analysis of Childbearing in Childhood in Tanzania’s Rufiji District. Matern Child Health J 20, 447–455 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-015-1842-7

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