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Single Motherhood and Child Mortality in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Life Course Perspective

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  • Shelley Clark
  • Dana Hamplová

Abstract

Single motherhood in sub-Saharan Africa has received surprisingly little attention, although it is widespread and has critical implications for children’s well-being. Using survival analysis techniques, we estimate the probability of becoming a single mother over women’s life course and investigate the relationship between single motherhood and child mortality in 11 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Although a mere 5 % of women in Ethiopia have a premarital birth, one in three women in Liberia will become mothers before first marriage. Compared with children whose parents were married, children born to never-married single mothers were significantly more likely to die before age 5 in six countries (odds ratios range from 1.36 in Nigeria to 2.61 in Zimbabwe). In addition, up to 50 % of women will become single mothers as a consequence of divorce or widowhood. In nine countries, having a formerly married mother was associated with a significantly higher risk of dying (odds ratios range from 1.29 in Zambia to 1.75 in Kenya) relative to having married parents. Children of divorced women typically had the poorest outcomes. These results highlight the vulnerability of children with single mothers and suggest that policies aimed at supporting single mothers could help to further reduce child mortality in sub-Saharan Africa. Copyright Population Association of America 2013

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  • Shelley Clark & Dana Hamplová, 2013. "Single Motherhood and Child Mortality in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Life Course Perspective," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 50(5), pages 1521-1549, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:demogr:v:50:y:2013:i:5:p:1521-1549
    DOI: 10.1007/s13524-013-0220-6
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    Cited by:

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    9. Samuel H Nyarko & Lloyd Potter, 2021. "Levels and socioeconomic correlates of nonmarital fertility in Ghana," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(2), pages 1-13, February.
    10. Gizachew Worku Dagnew & Melash Belachew Asresie & Gedefaw Abeje Fekadu & Yared Mulu Gelaw, 2020. "Factors associated with divorce from first union among women in Ethiopia: Further analysis of the 2016 Ethiopia demographic and health survey data," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(12), pages 1-12, December.
    11. Laurie F. DeRose & Andrés Salazar-Arango & Paúl Corcuera García & Montserrat Gas-Aixendri & Reynaldo Rivera, 2017. "Maternal union instability and childhood mortality risk in the Global South, 2010–14," Population Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 71(2), pages 211-228, May.
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    13. Cassandra Cotton & Shelley Clark & Sangeetha Madhavan, 2022. "“One hand does not bring up a child:” Child fostering among single mothers in Nairobi slums," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 46(30), pages 865-904.
    14. Nathalie Guilbert & Karine Marazyan, 2013. "Being Born Out-of-Wedlock: Does it affect a Child’s Survival Chance? An Empirical Investigation for Senegal," Working Papers DT/2013/07, DIAL (Développement, Institutions et Mondialisation).
    15. Guirkinger, Catherine & Gross, Jérémie & Platteau, Jean-Philippe, 2021. "Are women emancipating? Evidence from marriage, divorce and remarriage in Rural Northern Burkina Faso☆," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 146(C).
    16. Lauren Gaydosh, 2015. "Childhood Risk of Parental Absence in Tanzania," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 52(4), pages 1121-1146, August.
    17. Clifford Odimegwu & Oluwaseyi Dolapo Somefun & Joshua Akinyemi, 2017. "Gender Differences in the Effect of Family Structure on Educational Outcomes Among Nigerian Youth," SAGE Open, , vol. 7(4), pages 21582440177, November.
    18. Sangeetha Madhavan & Donatien Beguy & Shelley Clark, 2018. "Measuring extended families over time in informal settlements in Nairobi, Kenya: Retention and data consistency in a two-round survey," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 38(44), pages 1339-1358.
    19. Dallmann, D & Marquis, GS & Colecraft, EK & Dodoo, ND, 2023. "Marital Transition Is Associated With Food Insecurity, Low Dietary Diversity, And Overweight In A Female Population In Rural Ghana," African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition and Development (AJFAND), African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition and Development (AJFAND), vol. 23(1), January.
    20. Emily Smith-Greenaway, 2020. "Does Parents’ Union Instability Disrupt Intergenerational Advantage? An Analysis of Sub-Saharan Africa," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 57(2), pages 445-473, April.
    21. Castro Ayebeng & Kwamena Sekyi Dickson & Abdul-Aziz Seidu & Joshua Amo-Adjei, 2022. "Single motherhood in Ghana: analysis of trends and predictors using demographic and health survey data," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 9(1), pages 1-10, December.
    22. Laurie F. DeRose & Gloria Huarcaya & Andrés Salazar-Arango & Marcos Agurto & Paúl Corcuera & Marga Gonzalvo-Cirac & Claudia Tarud, 2017. "Children’s Living Arrangements and On-time Progression Through School in Latin America and the Caribbean," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 38(2), pages 184-203, June.
    23. Sory Toure & John Weeks & David Lopez-Carr & Douglas Stow, 2020. "Evaluating links between dynamic urban landscapes and under-five child mortality in Accra, Ghana," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 42(20), pages 589-614.

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