Effects of Maternal Immunization on Birth Weight in Rural Cameroon

This study investigated the effects of tetanus immunization on birth weight in rural Cameroon. Specifically, the study sought to: examine the determinants of mother’s immunization in Cameroon; assess the impact of mother tetanus immunization on child health production; examine how birth weight production function can be estimated by area of residence and household income; and propose policy implications on the basis of the findings. To tackle these objectives, the study used the ordinary least square (OLS) model. Empirical results were based on pooled data from the 2004 and 2011 demographic and health surveys (DHS) collected by the government’s statistics office. The results showed that maternal immunization during pregnancy was associated positively with birth weight, overall in rural and urban areas, and among poor and non-poor households. Other variables that were significantly associated with birth weight in rural Cameroon were: mother’s education in years of schooling, mother’s age, father’s age, first twin birth, male child birth, nonpoor, interaction of mother’s and father’s education and urban household residence. These results have implications for addressing child health concerns in the ongoing process of growth, employment and poverty reduction in terms of improving access to antenatal care and family planning in rural Cameroon.