Regional comparative analysis of factors that may delay child-birth for at least 10 months among women in Ghana after marriage

Abstract Introduction: Infertility or difficulty related to conception and childbirth is still a global health concern including Ghana. Infertility or child-birth associated difficulties after marriage can lead to divorce. However, risk factors associated with child-birth difficulties are often difficult to detect by both the Gynaecologist and the couple involved. This makes proposing solutions to issues related to child-birth usually unsuccessful.Methods: This study seeks to identify risk factors associated with child-birth among married women in Ghana. This was achieved by using a logistic regression model for the dichotomous birth length (birth within 10 months or after 10 months in marriage) variable, adjusting for risk factors of birth length. The data used for the study were obtained from the 2014 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey, consisting of 5,004 complete cases. Statistical analyses were carried out using STATA version 14.1, best-fitting model selected from candidate models using their respective Akaike Information Criterion or Bayesian Information Criterion and the predictive power of such model determined using the Receiver Operating Characteristic curve.Results: Respondents with Akan ethnic background are less likely to deliver their first child after 10 months of marriage, wives who reported that beating is justified if she goes out without her husband's notice are more likely to give birth to their first child after 10 months of marriage, wives who reported that beating is justified when she burns food are less likely to give birth to their first child after 10 months of marriage. A unit increase in the age of respondent at first sex at first cohabitation decreases the likelihood of giving birth to the first child after 10 months in marriage. Rich and middle-class wives are more likely to give birth after 10 months in marriage.Discussion and Conclusions: For wives to conceive within 10 months of marriage, wives and husbands should or are encouraged to have frequent sex, any negative social behavior or policies must be discouraged. Husbands should openly express their desire and love for their children since this increases the likelihood of wives desire to give birth. This leads to frequent sex, which then reduces conception time, and hence, child-birth within the shortest possible time.