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The Impact of Social and Economic Indicators on Maternal and Child Health

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Abstract

As early as 1985, Rosenfield and Maine began to look at what is called the maternal child field (MCH). More than two decades later, maternal and infant mortality is still among the worst performing health indicator in resource-poor countries and regions, and it has barely changed since 1990. Although three of the eight United Nations Millennium Development Goals aim at reducing child mortality, maternal mortality, and promoting gender equality, most literature in the field is either clinical or exclusively deals with women’s health problems. In this study, I proposed an empirical model that tests the impact of gender equality, women’s human rights, and maternity care on MCH with economic and political development as background factors. The proposed model was tested by using structural equation analysis. Data were obtained from 137 developing countries. The proposed model is partially supported by the data. Empirical findings demonstrate that gender equality has a pivotal role to play in the promotion of MCH. The relationship between MCH and maternity care is found to be strong and statistically significant. This finding may permit a probable verification given the current social conditions in some developing countries, particularly the neglect of many of women’s health needs and the assignment of their primary responsibilities in childrearing. The women’s human rights hypothesis is not supported by the data. It is perhaps that human rights instruments provide a legal discourse for political functions and social welfare issues, but that the legal approach alone does not necessarily provide a moral and social foundation to ensure the implementation of social welfare and human well-being, particularly maternal and child health in developing countries. The findings also indicate the importance of economic development in predicting maternity care. Finally, a positive and statistically significant relationship is found between economic development and gender equality. Implications and limitations of the study are discussed.

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Notes

  1. The United Nations member states have pledged to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015. There are eight Millennium Development Goals (United Nations Development Program 2005, 2006; World Bank 2008): (1) Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger; (2) Achieve universal primary education; (3) Promote gender equality and empower women; (4) Reduce child mortality; (5) Improve maternal health; (6) Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases; (7) Ensure environmental sustainability; and 8) Develop global partnership for development.

  2. A number of studies have found that in societies where women and men enjoy more egalitarian relationships, women appear to enjoy better health outcomes. Note that this notion cannot hold true when the overall well-being of the community is jeopardized by events beyond control, such as war or natural disasters.

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Acknowledgments

I wish to acknowledge the anonymous reviewers for the thorough review and constructive comments on the earlier version of this paper.

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  1. Department of Sociology, University of Texas–Pan American, 1201 West University Drive, Edinburg, TX, 78539, USA

    Guang-zhen Wang

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Correspondence to Guang-zhen Wang.

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Wang, Gz. The Impact of Social and Economic Indicators on Maternal and Child Health. Soc Indic Res 116, 935–957 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-013-0330-y

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