Socio-Demographic Determinants of Birth Registration among Mothers in an Urban Community in Southern Nigeria

ABSTRACT

Background: Birth registration is both a fundamental human right and an essential means of protecting a child's right to identity. Objective: The aim was to assess the awareness; knowledge and practice of birth registration by mothers and the socio-demographic determinants of birth registration in an urban community in southern Nigeria. Methodology: A community-based descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out among mothers in an urban community in Ovia North East local government area of Edo State; Nigeria. A structured interviewer administered questionnaire was used for data collection. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 20. Results: Awareness of birth registration was high (69.6) with mass media as the major source of information (60.5); but the composite knowledge of it was poor. Awareness of the agency responsible for birth registration was poor. Only 44.2 of the respondents registered the births of their children; two-thirds of those who registered births possess a birth certificate. Marital status and level of education were significantly associated with the knowledge of birth registration. Age; level of education; marital status; occupation; and place of delivery were the determinants of the practice of birth registration. Conclusion: There is a need for a change of strategy in the campaign for birth registration so that awareness can translate into better knowledge and practice. We advocate the establishment of community-based birth registration centers to improve accessibility and practice of birth registration