In this blog post, we will look at the factors that affect maternal and child health. They include:
Maternal education-An educated woman is more informed to implement decisions concerning her health and her child’s and their overall welfare, and as such are likely to be aware of proper child care practices, family planning etc .In other words, literate women are more likely to utilize postnatal services and other child and maternal health services compared to illiterate women.
Ease in access to health care-Women with infants with easy access to antenatal care and post natal care are more likely to seek constant medical reviews, thus ensure proper development for their children, and hence promote good maternal and child health.
Socio –economic status- Limited resources restrict good maternal and child health leading to increased likelihood of infections and poor nutrition. In actuality, with increasing social status there is a link to an improvement in the ease in access to maternal and child health, as wealthier women are able to attend regular MCH sessions in a timely basis. Conversely, those in the wealthy quintile are likely to have better maternal and child health in comparison to those of low socio-economic status.
Numbers of children-Women with more children are less likely to use postnatal services. This is perhaps because they have already had other children and may be presumed to be more experienced at handling related issues unlike women who are having their first children; who are likely to seek maternal and child health services. Women with more children may have the tendency to believe that they are more informed on how to handle their maternal and child health issues; hence, they may use MCH services less. Therefore, for women with more children, it is likely that child and maternal health may deteriorate as parity increases, while a woman with fewer children may prioritize her health and that of her child.
Woman’s age-Older women above 30 are likely to seek maternal and child care services compared to younger women below 20 years who may not afford the services especially if there are added costs.
Dietary practices before pregnancy-If a woman had good dietary practices before pregnancy, then her health and that of her infant are likely to be preserved compared to a woman who had poor dietary practices and perhaps engaged in excessive alcohol intake and smoking, who will impair her health and predispose her child to birth defects. In addition, poor nutrition during pregnancy can cause complications such as preterm delivery, pre-eclampsia, anaemia etc that affect maternal and the child’s health.
Exposure to media-Women who are more exposed to media especially media that features nutrition programs on the importance of maternal and child health may prioritize their health and that of their children compared to those who are less exposed.
Among the factors that affect maternal and child health are dietary practices before pregnancy, a woman’s age, maternal education, exposure to media, the ease in access to health facilities, the number of children and socio-economic status.