Determinants of age at first birth among women in Ethiopia using cox proportional hazards model

Abstract

Backgroung: the age at first birth corresponds to the age of the mother giving birth to the first child. The delivery of the primary child is an important event that leaves a social mark on a woman’s life. It is a woman’s clear transition to parenthood with the roles and responsibilities involved. Premature birth can negatively affect women’s socio-economic wellbeing in subsequent years. The study aims at accessing the determinants of age at first birth among Ethiopian women. Methods: the data for this study was extracted from the published reports of Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey. The study used15, 683women aged 15-49 years from nine regions and two city administrations. Cox Proportional hazards model was used for identifying factors associated with age at first birth. Results: the median time of age at first birth for Ethiopian women was22 years with 95% CI; (21.82, 22.18).Cox Proportional Hazards Model shows that region, place of residence, education, wealth index, religion, work status, age at first marriage, age at first sex, and use of contraceptives have significant effects on the age at first birth at 5% level of significance. From region category, Amhararegion (p-value=0.398), BenishangulGumuz(p-value=0.112) Region, and Gambella region(p-value=0.062) were not significant at 5% level of significance. Conclusions: the age at first birth was positively correlated with the age at first sexual intercourse. A woman who has sexual intercourse much earlier gives birth earlier than a woman who is late for first intercourse.