Page 64 - IJPS-11-4

International Journal of
Population Studies Early marriage and infant mortality in SSA

Zimbabwe 25.2 37.8
Zambia 30.1 36.5
Uganda 32.3 46
Tanzania 31.2 37.8
Sierra-L 26.2 58.3
Rwanda 31.9 40.3
Nigeria 41.3 59.5
Niger 19.1 32.1
Namibia 18.9 34.5
Mozambiq 29.4 48
Mali 33.4 44.6
Malawi 33.8 40.7 NMR/1000
IMR/1000 live births
Liberia 42.4 45.7
Lesotho 30.2 41.2
Kenya 24.5 40.1
Guinea 42.2 73.5
Ghana 22.5 25.3
Garbon 45.3 50.9
Cote D'I 23.6 42.1
Cosmoros 35.3 53
Congo DR 45.3 64.4
Congo 22.2 34.8
Chad 38.5 60.2
Cameroon 25.5 38.9
Burundi 19 32.2
Burkina 21.8 48.7
Benin 22.8 32
Angola 28.1 41
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Figure 1. Infant and neonatal mortality rates (per 1000 live births). Cote D’I = Cote D’Iviore; Sierra L = Sierra Leone
Abbreviations: IMR: Infant mortality rate; NMR: Neonatal mortality rate.

3.4. Child marriage, women’s empowerment, and The results of the multivariable analysis are presented
infant mortality in Table 3. Model 1 shows the unadjusted HRs indicating
Table 2 displays the relationships between child marriage, the independent effects of age at first marriage (continuous
women’s empowerment, selected maternal characteristics, variable) on infant mortality. The findings reveal
and infant mortality. Compared with the other categories, significantly elevated hazards of infant death among
infant mortality was higher among male children children whose mothers married at ages 15 (HR: 1.65,
(ꭓ = 10.26, p < 0.05), children who are in first birth CI: 1.18 – 2.31, p < 0.01) and 16 (HR: 1.40 CI: 1.04 – 1.90,
2
order (ꭓ = 41.94, p < 0.001), children of less empowered p < 0.05) compared with those whose mothers married at
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women (ꭓ = 15.21, p < 0.01), children of 15 – 19-old ages 18+. The outcomes obtained after adjusting for the
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mothers (ꭓ = 51.07, p < 0.001), children of uneducated proxy measure for women’s empowerment in Model 2
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mothers (ꭓ = 16.28, p < 0.01), multiple-birth children divulged similar patterns.
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(ꭓ = 346.10, p < 0.001), children of Muslim mothers The unadjusted Model 3 is shown in Table 4, revealing that
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(ꭓ = 13.17, p < 0.05), children of mothers who married at children whose mothers married before age 15 (HR: 1.34,
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age 15 – 17 (ꭓ = 3.68, p < 0.05), children delivered at home CI: 1.01 – 1.89, p < 0.05) and at the age span of 15 – 17
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(ꭓ = 45.51, p < 0.001), and children whose mothers had <4 (HR: 1.38, CI: 1.06 – 1.80, p < 0.05) were at significantly
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antenatal care visits (ꭓ = 89.65, p < 0.001). higher risk of dying during infancy than children whose
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Volume 11 Issue 4 (2025) 58 https://doi.org/10.36922/ijps.2411