The Effects of Household Wealth on Selected Indicators of Maternal and Child Health :Evidence from Ghana

Abstract

Though Ghana has succeeded in halving poverty prior to the commencement of the new global agenda – Sustainable Development Goals, the country still faces high maternal and child mortality rates partly due to disparities in household wealth among other contextual factors. This study investigates the effect of household wealth on selected indicators of maternal and child health– antenatal care (ANC), modern contraceptive use and under-five mortality. In 2016, the WHO recommended a new guideline on the number of ANC visits in which the recommended ANC visits by expectant mothers was revised from four (4) to eight (8). This study therefore seeks to examine the effect of household wealth on the uptake of the revised recommended visit of eight (8). The study further seeks to ascertain the effect of household wealth on modern contraceptive usage as well as under-five mortality. Using data from the 2014 GDHS data and employing the logistic regression estimation technique, the findings reveal that household wealth has a positive and significant effect on ANC. The results also indicate that household wealth has a negative and significant relationship with under-five mortality whereas it has positive and insignificant relationship with modern contraceptive use. Furthermore, this study uniquely identifies a heterogeneous effect of household wealth on maternal healthcare service utilisation. In particular, women in rural areas whose partners/husbands have attained a minimum of secondary education are more likely to use healthcare services especially ANC. Hence, a holistic health education especially for males in the rural areas as well as interventions that improve livelihoods are crucial for improving maternal and child health.