Child malnutrition and prenatal care: evidence from three Latin American countries
Nohora Forero-Ramirez1, Luis F Gamboa1, Arjun Bedi2
1Department of Economics, Universidad del Rosario, Bogotá, Colombia.
Insights
Prenatal care (PNC) showed a weak association with reduced child malnutrition in Bolivia, Colombia, and Peru. Expanding PNC programs may not significantly decrease malnutrition inequalities.
Area of Science:
- Global Health
- Maternal and Child Health
- Econometrics
Background:
- Child stunting remains a significant public health issue in Andean countries.
- Prenatal care (PNC) is a key policy intervention aimed at reducing child malnutrition.
- Bolivia, Colombia, and Peru have focused on expanding PNC access.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the impact of prenatal care (PNC) on child stunting levels.
- To analyze the distribution of child stunting in relation to PNC in three Andean nations.
- To assess PNC's effectiveness as a strategy against early-life malnutrition.
Main Methods:
- Econometric analysis of cross-sectional Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) data.
- Application of ordinary least-squares (OLS) regressions.
- Utilized concentration curves and index decomposition for inequality analysis.
Main Results:
- Prenatal care (PNC) use demonstrated a weak correlation with reduced child malnutrition.
- The analysis did not find a substantial impact of PNC on the overall level of stunting.
- Inequality in malnutrition was not significantly addressed by current PNC utilization.
Conclusions:
- Increased investment in prenatal care (PNC) programs is unlikely to be a primary driver for reducing malnutrition inequalities.
- Alternative or supplementary interventions may be necessary to effectively combat child stunting and its disparities.
- Policy focus may need to shift beyond PNC expansion for substantial improvements in child nutritional outcomes.
Objective:
To examine the effect of prenatal care (PNC) on the level and distribution of child stunting in three Andean countries-Bolivia, Colombia, and Peru-where expanding access to such care has been an explicit policy intervention to tackle child malnutrition in utero and during early childhood.
Methods:
An econometric analysis of cross-sectional Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) data was conducted. The analysis included ordinary least-squares (OLS) regressions, estimates of concentration curves, and decompositions of a concentration index.
Results:
The analysis shows that the use of PNC in Bolivia, Colombia, and Peru is only weakly associated with a reduction in the level of child malnutrition.
Conclusions:
Further expansion of PNC programs is unlikely to play a large role in reducing inequalities in malnutrition.
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