Associations between birth registration and early child growth and development: evidence from 31 low- and middle-income countries

BMC Public Health
Joshua JeongGünther Fink

Abstract

Lack of legal identification documents can impose major challenges for children in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The aim of this study was to investigate the association between not having a birth certificate and young children's physical growth and developmental outcomes in LMICs. We combined nationally representative data from the Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys in 31 LMICs. For our measure of birth registration, primary caregivers reported on whether the child had a birth certificate. Early child outcome measures focused on height-for-age z-scores (HAZ), weight-for-age z-scores (WAZ), weight-for-height z-scores (WHZ), and standardized scores of the Early Childhood Development Index (ECDI) for a subsample of children aged 36-59 months. We used linear regression models with country fixed effects to estimate the relationship between birth registration and child outcomes. In fully adjusted models, we controlled for a variety of child, caregiver, household, and access to child services covariates, including cluster-level fixed effects. In the total sample, 34.7% of children aged 0-59 months did not possess a birth certificate. After controlling for covariates, not owning a birth certificate was associated with lowe...Continue Reading

References

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Citations

Jul 10, 2019·American Journal of Physical Anthropology·Ornella ComandiniElisabetta Marini
Feb 20, 2019·International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health·Chris Sanders, Kristin Burnett
Feb 4, 2021·SSM - Population Health·Amiya BhatiaS V Subramanian

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