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SPOUSAL AGREEMENT ON PREFERRED WAITING TIME TO NEXT BIRTH IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 March 2011

TESFAYI GEBRESELASSIE  and
VINOD MISHRA
TESFAYI GEBRESELASSIE
Affiliation:
ICF Macro, Atlanta, GA, USA
VINOD MISHRA
Affiliation:
International Health and Development Division, ICF Macro, Calverton, MD, USA
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Summary

This study investigates how various social, demographic and economic factors affect spousal agreement on preferred waiting time to next birth. Data for matched cohabiting couples from ten Demographic and Health Surveys in sub-Saharan Africa (Benin, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Guinea, Mali, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe), conducted between 2003 and 2006, were analysed to compare reported waiting time to next birth by the husband and the wife. Couples where the reported waiting time to next birth was the same for both partners (difference is 0 months) were defined as having agreement on waiting time to next birth. In sub-Saharan Africa, spousal agreement on waiting time to next birth was found to be associated with wanting the next child sooner. When the spouses disagree on waiting time to next birth, the wives want to wait longer than their husbands in most cases. Additionally, the study found that demographic factors are the primary determinants of spousal agreement on waiting time to next birth, not socioeconomic factors. The strongest predictors of spousal agreement on waiting time to next birth were number of living children, difference between the number of ideal and living children and wife's age. Couples with fewer children, a younger wife and those with a difference of five or more children between ideal and living number of children were more likely to agree on waiting time to next birth. Effects of socioeconomic factors, such as education and wealth status, on spousal agreement on waiting time to next birth were generally weak and inconsistent. The findings highlight some of the challenges in developing programmes to promote spousal communication and birth spacing and underscore the need for programmes to be gender-sensitive.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Biosocial Science , Volume 43 , Issue 4 , July 2011 , pp. 385 - 400
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

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