Birth Spacing

The indicator assesses the proportion of caregivers whose two youngest children were born at least two years apart. Doing so enables the woman’s body to recover from the last pregnancy and reduces the risk of dying during birth, having a miscarriage or delivering an undernourished baby.

Collect the following data by conducting individual interviews with a representative sample of the mothers of children aged 0-23 months:

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

Q1: How many children did you deliver? (twins must be counted as one child in this case)

A1: 2 or more children / less than 2 children (or twins)

(ask the following question only if the previous answer is 2 or more children)

Q2: Are the two youngest children who you delivered alive?

A2: yes / no

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

Q3: Do you have a birth certificate or other official document stating the age of your youngest child?

A3: _

1) yes -> record the youngest child’s age: …… months

2) no -> determine the youngest child’s age by using Local Events: …… months

Q4: Do you have a birth certificate or other official document stating the age of your second youngest child?

A4: _

1) yes -> record the second youngest child’s age: …… months

2) no -> determine the second youngest child’s age by using Local Events Calendar: …… months

To calculate the indicator’s value, divide the number of children aged 0–23 months who are at least 24 months younger than their older sibling by the total number of surveyed children aged 0-23 months who have an older sibling. Multiply the result by 100 to convert it to a percentage. 

Disaggregate the data by the mother’s age, location (rural/ urban) and socio-economic characteristics (education, wealth quintile).

1) Keep in mind that your target sample is not “mothers of children aged 0-23 months” but “mothers of children aged 0-23 months who have an older sibling”. They are identified by conducting individual interviews with mothers of children aged 0-23 months. Therefore, the number of “mothers of children aged 0-23 months” must be so high that even if some are dropped due to the children not having an older sibling, the resulting number of children aged 0-23 months who have an older sibling still meets the minimum sample size.

2) This indicator relies on an accurate age assessment. Since people often do not remember the exact dates of their children’s birth, the data collectors should always verify the child’s age. This can be done by reviewing the child’s birth certificate, vaccination card or another document; however, since many caregivers do not have such documents (and since they can include mistakes), it is essential that your data collectors are able to verify the child’s age by using local events calendars. Read FAO’s Guidelines (see below) to learn how to prepare local events calendars and how to train data collectors in their correct use.