Observational studyMedicine2020
Patterns and determinants of short and long birth intervals among women in selected sub-Saharan African countries.
Observational study in Medicine, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 31 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
31 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Preconception health risks among women of reproductive age in Sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review of implications for preconception care.Journal of health, population, and nutrition · 2025Pooled it
- Patterns and determinants of short and long interpregnancy intervals among pregnant women in Ethiopia: a population-based cross-sectional study.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2026Article
- Magnitude of short birth intervals and associated factors among reproductive-age women in sub-Saharan Africa: a multilevel modified Poisson regression analysis of recent DHS data (2021-2024).Contraception and reproductive medicine · 2026Article
- Contraception to women's economic empowerment: A narrative review.World development · 2025Review
- Assessing regional disparities and sociodemographic influences on short birth intervals (SBI) among reproductive-age women in Nigeria.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Maternal sociodemographic characteristics of short and long interpregnancy intervals in Japan: an analysis using national birth data.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Short interpregnancy interval following reproductive coercion: A prospective cohort study of pregnant Ethiopian women.Pregnancy (Hoboken, N.J.) · 2025Article
- Exploring machine learning algorithms to predict short birth intervals and identify its determinants among reproductive-age women in East Africa.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2025Article
- Inter-pregnancy interval and associated factors among parous women in neighboring low-land ecologies of arsi & east shoa zone, southeast Ethiopia: a community-based cross-sectional study.Contraception and reproductive medicine · 2025Article
- Association Between Short Birth Interval and Immediate Adverse Perinatal Outcomes Among Women Delivering at a Tertiary Hospital in South-Western Uganda.International journal of women's health · 2025Article
- Determinants of suboptimal birth spacing among reproductive-age women in Adama district, Ethiopia: a community-based unmatched case-control study.BMC women's health · 2024Article
- Prevalence and factors associated with short birth interval in the semi-rural community of Kaya, Burkina Faso: results of a community-based survey.Archives of public health = Archives belges de sante publique · 2024Article
- Article
- Determinants of short birth interval in Ethiopia: A multilevel analysis based on EDHS 2019, Ethiopia, 2023.PloS one · 2024Article
- Women's Sexual Autonomy and Short Birth Interval in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Multilevel Analysis of Demographic and Health Survey Data.Archives of sexual behavior · 2024Article
- High-risk fertility behaviors and associated factors among married reproductive-age women in sub-Saharan Africa: A multilevel mixed-effect analysis of nationally representative data from 35 countries.PLOS global public health · 2024Article
- Review
- Article
- Suboptimal birth spacing practice and its predictors among reproductive-age women in Sub-Saharan African countries: a multilevel mixed-effects modeling with robust Poisson regression.Reproductive health · 2023Article
- Article
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2 authors.
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Abstract
Optimal birth spacing (defined as a birth spacing of 24-59 months) is incontrovertibly linked to better health outcomes for both mothers and babies. Using the most recent available Demographic and Health Survey data, we examined the patterns and determinants of short and long birth intervals among women in selected sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries.Reproductive health and sociodemographic data of 98,934 women from 8 SSA countries were analyzed. Unadjusted and adjusted multinomial logistic regression models were used to examine the net relationship between all the independent variables and short and long birth intervals.Overall, the majority of women in all the countries optimally spaced births. However, a significant proportion of women had short birth intervals in Chad (30.2%) and the Democratic Republic of Congo (Congo DRC) (27.1%). Long birth spacing was more common in Eastern and Southern African countries, with Zimbabwe having the highest rate of long term birth interval (27.0%). Women who were aged 35 years and above in Uganda (RRR = 0.72, CI = 0.60-0.87), Tanzania (RRR = 0.62, CI = 0.49-0.77), Zimbabwe (RRR = 0.52, CI = 0.31-0.85), Nigeria (RRR = 0.82, CI = 0.72-0.94) and Togo (RRR = 0.67, CI = 0.46-0.96) had significantly lower odds of having short birth intervals compared to women aged 15-24 years. Older women (above 34 years) had increased odds for long birth intervals in all countries studied (Chad (RRR = 1.44, CI = 1.18-1.76), Congo DRC (RRR = 1.73, CI = 1.33-2.15), Malawi (RRR = 1.54, CI = 1.23-1.94) Zimbabwe (RRR = 1.95, CI = 1.26-3.02), Nigeria (RRR = 1.85 CI = 1.56-2.20), Togo (RRR = 2.12, CI = 1.46-3.07), Uganda (RRR = 1.48, CI = 1.15-1.91), Tanzania RRR = 2.12, CI = 1.53-2.93).The analysis suggested that the determinants of long and birth intervals differ and varies from country to country. The pattern of birth spacing found in this study appears to mirror the contraceptive use and fertility rate in the selected SSA countries. Birth intervals intervention addressing short birth intervals should target younger women in SSA, especially in Chad and Congo DRC, while intervention for long birth spacing should prioritize older, educated and wealthy women.
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