ArticleDemography2013
Single motherhood and child mortality in sub-Saharan Africa: a life course perspective.
Article in Demography, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 49 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
49 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 135 citations in OpenAlex.
- A systematic review of risk factors for neonatal mortality in adolescent mother's in Sub Saharan Africa.BMC research notes · 2014Pooled it
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- Pregnancy reporting and biases in under-five mortality in three African HDSSs.Population studies · 2025Article
- Changes in disease burden and epidemiological transitions.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Kenyans' perspectives on parenting roles and strategies used to raise young children in Kenya.Journal of family psychology : JFP : journal of the Division of Family Psychology of the American Psychological Association (Division 43) · 2024Article
- Predictors of divorce and duration of marriage among first marriage women in Dejne administrative town.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- MEASURING UNION FORMALIZATION FOR A NEW GENERATION OF FAMILY DEMOGRAPHY: A CASE STUDY FROM URBAN KENYA.Population and development review · 2024Article
- Discrete-time survival analysis with survey weights: a case study of age at child death in Sierra Leone.BMC public health · 2023Article
- Union formation, within-couple dynamics, and child well-being: A global macrolevel perspective.Population, space and place · 2023Article
- Our Grandmothers' Legacy: Challenges Faced by Female Ancestors Leave Traces in Modern Women's Same-Sex Relationships.Archives of sexual behavior · 2022Article
- Family Structure Transitions: Prevalence and Physical Health Effects in Ethiopia, India, Peru, and Vietnam.Journal of child and family studies · 2022Article
- Economic Inequality and Divergence in Family Formation in sub-Saharan Africa.Population and development review · 2021Article
- "I Found Out I was Pregnant, and I Started Feeling Stressed": A Longitudinal Qualitative Perspective of Mental Health Experiences Among Perinatal Women Living with HIV.AIDS and behavior · 2021Article
- "I Don't Know Where I Have to Knock for Support": A Mixed-Methods Study on Perceptions and Experiences of Single Mothers Raising Children in the Democratic Republic of Congo.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Article
- Perceptions of minimum age at marriage laws and their enforcement: qualitative evidence from Malawi.BMC public health · 2021Article
- Article
- Child mortality associated with maternal HIV status: a retrospective analysis in Rwanda, 2005-2015.BMJ global health · 2021Article
- Spatial clusters distribution and modelling of health care autonomy among reproductive-age women in Ethiopia: spatial and mixed-effect logistic regression analysis.BMC health services research · 2021Article
- What are the determinants of childhood infections in India's peri-urban slums? A case study of eight cities.PloS one · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
2 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Single motherhood in sub-Saharan Africa has received surprisingly little attention, although it is widespread and has critical implications for children's well-being. Using survival analysis techniques, we estimate the probability of becoming a single mother over women's life course and investigate the relationship between single motherhood and child mortality in 11 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Although a mere 5 % of women in Ethiopia have a premarital birth, one in three women in Liberia will become mothers before first marriage. Compared with children whose parents were married, children born to never-married single mothers were significantly more likely to die before age 5 in six countries (odds ratios range from 1.36 in Nigeria to 2.61 in Zimbabwe). In addition, up to 50 % of women will become single mothers as a consequence of divorce or widowhood. In nine countries, having a formerly married mother was associated with a significantly higher risk of dying (odds ratios range from 1.29 in Zambia to 1.75 in Kenya) relative to having married parents. Children of divorced women typically had the poorest outcomes. These results highlight the vulnerability of children with single mothers and suggest that policies aimed at supporting single mothers could help to further reduce child mortality in sub-Saharan Africa.
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