ArticleBMC public health2014
Health effects of single motherhood on children in sub-Saharan Africa: a cross-sectional study.
Article in BMC public health, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 27 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
27 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 72 citations in OpenAlex.
- Current trends in household food insecurity, dietary diversity, and stunting among children under five in Asia: a systematic review.Journal of global health · 2025Pooled it
- Exploring outcomes between single and dual caregiver households participating in a parenting and family strengthening intervention in Rwanda: the case of Sugira Muryango.BMC public health · 2025Trial
- "Him Leaving Me - That is My Fear Now": A Mixed Methods Analysis of Relationship Dissolution Between Ugandan Pregnant and Postpartum Women Living with HIV and Their Male Partners.AIDS and behavior · 2023Trial
- Burden and contributing factors to overweight and obesity in young adolescents in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.Maternal & child nutrition · 2025Article
- The association between single motherhood and child undernutrition in Zambia: analysis of the 2007, 2013-14 and 2018 Demographic and Health Surveys.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Predictors of divorce and duration of marriage among first marriage women in Dejne administrative town.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Time to death and its determinants of under-five children in rural Ethiopia by using shared frailty.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Article
- Neurodevelopment of children who are HIV-exposed and uninfected in Kenya.Journal of the International AIDS Society · 2023Article
- Risk factors associated with under-five stunting, wasting, and underweight in four provinces of the Democratic Republic of Congo: analysis of the ASSP project baseline data.BMC public health · 2022Article
- "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
- Under-5 mortality in sub-Saharan Africa: is maternal age at first childbirth below 20 years a risk factor?BMJ open · 2021Article
- Article
- Article
- Literacy is power: structural drivers of child malnutrition in rural Liberia.BMJ nutrition, prevention & health · 2020Article
- Risk Factors Associated with Malnutrition among Children Under-Five Years in Sub-Saharan African Countries: A Scoping Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Article
- Does Parents' Union Instability Disrupt Intergenerational Advantage? An Analysis of Sub-Saharan Africa.Demography · 2020Article
- Article
- Social determinants of under-5 child health: A qualitative study in Wolkayit Woreda, Tigray Region, Ethiopia.PloS one · 2019Article
- Maternal Education, Fertility, and Child Survival in Comoros.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2018Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAlthough progress has been made toward reducing child morbidity and mortality globally, a large proportion of children in sub-Saharan Africa still die before age five and many suffer chronic malnutrition. This study investigated the influence of single motherhood on stunting and under-5 mortality in Cameroon, Nigeria and Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Particular attention was paid to the influence of mother's economic resources, parental care and health behaviour on the difference in children's health in single and two-parent families.
methodsData were obtained from most recent Demographic and Health Surveys in Cameroon (2011), Nigeria (2008) and DRC (2007). The sample included women aged 15-49 years old and their under-5 children 11,748 in Cameroon, 28,100 in Nigeria, and 8,999 in DRC. Logistic regression and Cox proportional hazard analysis were used to estimate stunting and under-5 mortality, respectively.
resultsThe result showed that compared with children whose mothers were in union, children of single mothers who were not widows were more likely to be stunted (OR 1.79 p < 0.01 in Cameroon and 1.69 p < .01 in DRC). Economic resources and parental care significantly influenced the higher odds of stunting in single mother households in Cameroon and DRC. Relative to children of mothers in union, the risk of under-5 mortality in single mother families was higher in the three countries (HR 1.40 p < .05 in Cameroon, 1.27 p < 0.10 in DRC, 1.55 p < .01 in Nigeria). Economic resources, parental care and health behaviour accounted for the difference in Nigeria and Cameroon; in DRC, only economic resources had marginal influence.
conclusionsSingle motherhood is a risk factor for children's nutritional status and chances of survival before age 5 years in sub-Saharan Africa. To achieve improved reduction in children's exposure to stunting and under-5 mortality, there is the need for public health interventions targeted at single mother households in sub-Saharan Africa.
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