Knowledge of Benefits of Delayed Childbirth

The indicator measures the proportion of the target population members aware of at least two of the promoted benefits of girls delaying their first childbirth until the age of 20. Doing so reduces the risk of dying during the birth, having a miscarriage or delivering an undernourished baby.

Collect the following data by conducting individual interviews with a representative sample of your target population members:

RECOMMENDED SURVEY QUESTIONS (Q) AND POSSIBLE ANSWERS (A)

Q1: Do you think that there are any benefits to girls delaying their first childbirth until the age of 20?

A1: yes / no

(ask the following question only if the previous answer is YES)

Q2: Could you please tell me what are the most important benefits?

A2: specify the benefits your intervention promotes (multiple answers possible)

Note: If less than two are stated, keep probing: “Are there any other benefits?”

To calculate the indicator’s value, divide the number of respondents who were able to state two or more of the pre-defined benefits by the total number of respondents. Multiply the result by 100 to convert it to a percentage.

Disaggregate the data by age (especially if you survey men), location (rural/urban) and socio-economic characteristics (educational level, wealth quintile).

1) The benefits, that your intervention promotes, need to reflect the available scientific evidence, such as lower risk of dying during the birth, having a miscarriage or delivering an undernourished baby. At the same time, they should also include (often non-health) benefits identified through your formative survey, such as the girls’ ability to complete their education or stay with their parents for a longer period of time.

2) Use pre-testing to determine whether the requirement of stating only two benefits is not unnecessarily modest. If so, change the indicator to “three benefits”.