Antenatal care, formal education and child‐bearing

Summary. Both formal education and antenatal care had tremendous impact on the results of childbearing. In women who had never had any formal education nor received antenatal care, that is 33% of the survey population, maternal mortality was 29 per 1000 deliveries, perinatal mortality was 258 per 1000 total births and 26% of the babies weighed ≤2.50 kg. With education and antenatal care combined, as was the case in 10% of the survey population, the maternal death rate was 2.5 per 1000 deliveries, perinatal mortality rate was 30 per 1000 total births, and only 8% of the babies were of low birthweight. Among women in their thirties and beyond, the average number of previous births per woman in the illiterate group (5.4) was double that in those who had received post‐secondary education and child mortality rate at 25% was three times as high. Formal education, by changing social attitudes, holds the key to improvements in maternal and perinatal health.