Birth Notification and Registration: A Survey on Knowledge and Attitude Among Postpartum Women in Northwest Ethiopia

Birth registration is the official and permanent recording of a child's birth within a civil registry, according to the legal requirements of a country. Although the Sustainable Development Goal targets providing legal identity for all by 2030, birth registration levels remain critically low. Therefore, this study aimed to assess postpartum women's knowledge of and attitudes towards birth registration and its associated factors in Northwest Ethiopia.

An institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted from September 1-30/2022 among 422 participants who were selected using systematic random sampling. A pretested and structured interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collect the data. Data were entered into EPI Info 7 and analyzed using SPSS version 25. A multivariable logistic regression model was fitted to identify the factors associated with knowledge and attitudes towards birth registration. Variables with a p-value of <0.05 were considered to be significantly associated with the dependent variable.

Among the participants, 41.7% had good knowledge of birth registration. Less than one-quarter (22.6%) had a favorable attitude towards birth registration. Having a college and above educational level (AOR = 4.01, 95% CI: 2.3-8.4), being urban resident (AOR = 3.4, 95% CI: 3.1-7.4) and full exposure to media (AOR = 3.02, 95% CI: 1.5-5.7) were associated with knowledge of birth registration. Having primary educational status (AOR = 2.04, 95% CI: 2.96-8.31), being fully exposed to different media (AOR = 2.32, 95% CI: 1.22-11.36) and having four or more antenatal care visits (AOR = 5.10, 95% CI: 1.18-14.35) were associated with favorable attitudes towards birth registration.

Postpartum women had poor knowledge of and attitudes towards birth registration. Increasing educated women at all levels, awareness rising through different media and integration of birth registration with antenatal care is crucial for realizing the registration of all births by 2030.