An Assessment of Influencing Factors for Motherhood During Childhood in Bangladesh Using Factor Analysis and Logistic Regression Methods

Though Bangladesh has achieved great success in family planning as well as maternal and child sector nowadays, it still needs further improvement. This study deals with popular phenomenon motherhood in childhood and its influential factors in Bangladesh. Data are obtained from the 2014 Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey (BDHS). It can be seen that 62.1% of women age 18 or below become a mother or pregnant in childhood. The relationship between factors obtained by factor analysis and motherhood in childhood is assessed by both linear discriminant and logistic regression analyses. The covariates that are found to be significant by the χ 2-test are also analysed by binary logistic regression technique for examining their effects on childbearing in childhood. The analysis reveals that respondent’s education, husband’s education and age at first marriage are significantly negatively associated and respondent’s current age is significantly positively associated with the chance of becoming a mother in childhood. Region, wealth index, husband’s occupation and husband’s age are also significant to some extent. In conclusion, the prevalence of motherhood in childhood can be reduced by educating women upto secondary or higher levels, alleviating poverty and limiting the provisions of early marriage.