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Access to antenatal care and children's cognitive development: a comparative analysis in Ethiopia, Peru, Vietnam and

Mariachiara Di Cesare1, Ricardo Sabates

  • 1Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Imperial College London, 524, Norfolk Place, St Mary's Campus, London, W2 1PG, UK. m.di-cesare@imperial.ac.uk

International Journal of Public Health
|November 1, 2012
PubMed

Insights

Antenatal care access positively impacts children's cognitive development across multiple countries. This early life intervention shows potential in mitigating early nutritional deficiencies, especially in Peru and Vietnam.

Area of Science:

  • Global Health
  • Developmental Pediatrics
  • Public Health Interventions

Background:

  • Health inequalities emerge early in life.
  • Early life interventions are crucial for long-term well-being.
  • Antenatal care is a key early life intervention.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To empirically assess if antenatal care access reduces children's health and educational inequalities.
  • To investigate the long-term impact of antenatal care on child development.

Main Methods:

  • Longitudinal data from the Young Lives Project (Ethiopia, Peru, Vietnam, India).
  • Analysis of children born in 2001/2002, followed up in 2006/2007.
  • Multilevel mixed-effects linear regression models were employed.

Main Results:

  • Maternal antenatal care access significantly correlated with improved child cognitive development universally.
  • Antenatal care benefits were observed for stunted children's cognitive development in Peru and Vietnam.
  • Cross-country variations in antenatal care impact were noted.

Conclusions:

  • Antenatal care can mitigate negative effects of early nutritional deficits on cognitive development, particularly in Peru and Vietnam.
  • Quality of antenatal care services may explain observed cross-country differences.
  • Early life interventions like antenatal care are vital for reducing developmental inequalities.
Abstract

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