Maternal Education And Birth Registration In Ghana

ABSTRACT 

It is the right of every child to get an identity and nationality. Birth registration involves documentation of a child’s birth in the civil register by the government authority and it is the first legal document of a child. It provides vital information that facilitates planning and development in a country. In Ghana, about 50% of children under five are registered. In recent years, maternal education is said to be influencing birth registration. Specifically, it is proposed that maternal education is a major factor that determines birth registration. The aim of this study was to assess the extent to which maternal education influences birth registration in Ghana. This study used a sample of 4312 mothers with children under five from the 2011 Multiple Cluster Indicator Survey (MICS) Ghana dataset, which provided information on respondents’ socio-demographic characteristics and a child’s birth registration status. Frequency tables and graphs were used to present results generated from univariate analysis. The study used bivariate analysis to examine the association between maternal education and birth registration using chi-square test. Three binary logistic models were used to assess the influence of maternal education, place of delivery and other socio-demographic characteristics on birth registration within the study population. The results indicated 52.5% birth registration of children under five in Ghana. Compared with mothers who had no education, those who had attained Junior High School or higher levels of education were significantly more likely to have registered their children’s births. All the socio-demographic characteristics were significantly related to birth registration in the study. However, the results from models ran showed ethnicity and place of residence not to be predictors of birth registration of children under five. Based on the findings of the study, recommendations are made to promote girl child education to improve birth registration.