Table 1 Characteristics of included studies
First author and year of publication | Country | Sample size | Unit of analysis | Age range/mean (years) | Aim of the study |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Studies reporting OR/RR | |||||
Abdullah 2018a | Bangladesh | 4504 | Women | 15 to 35+ | “examines the feasibility of integrating a post-partum family planning intervention package within a community-based maternal and newborn health intervention package, and evaluates the impact of integration on reduction of rates of short birth intervals and preterm births.” |
Hailu 2016b | Ethiopia | 636 | Women | Mean 31 (SD ± 5.16) | “assess determinants of interbirth interval among child-bearing age women who have at least two consecutive live births in Arba Minch ZuriaWoreda, SNNP, Ethiopia, 2014.” |
Chirwa 2014c | Democratic Republic of Congo | 7172 | Women | 15 to 49 | “investigate the proportion of short birth intervals at the provincial level among young women in the DRC.” |
de Jonge 2014c | Bangladesh | 5571 | Births | NR | “identify predictors of short birth interval and determine consequences of short intervals on pregnancy outcomes.” |
Begna 2013b | Ethiopia | 636 | Women | 20 to 49 | “assess the determinants of inter birth interval among women’s of childbearing age in Yaballo Woreda, Borena zone, Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia.” |
Dim 2013c | Nigeria | 420 | Women | 20 to 44 | “determined the duration of inter-birth interval and the determinants of short inter-birth interval in Enugu, Nigeria.” |
Muganyizi 2013c | Tanzania | 427 | Women | 15 to 45mean 29.2(SD ± 5.1) | “explored if the use of modern family planning promotes healthy timing and spacing of pregnancy among women seeking antenatal services.” |
Exavery 2012d | Tanzania | 8980 | Women | 16 to 49 | “(1) describe the median level of inter-birth interval (in months), (2) estimate proportions of inter-birth intervals below the recommended minimum inter-birth interval by characteristics of mother and child, and (3) identify factors associated with non-adherence to the recommended minimum inter-birth interval among multiparous women of childbearing age in Rufiji district of Tanzania.” |
Fayehun 2011c | Nigeria | 22,752 | Births | 15 to 49 | “examine the effects of demographic, socioeconomic and socio-cultural factors on birth spacing among Nigerian ethnic groups.” |
Ismail 2008c | Malaysia | 355 | Women | Mean 33.5 (SD ± 5.0) | “determine the prevalence and associated factors for short birth spacing among Malay women who delivered at Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kota Bharu, Kelantan.” |
Todd 2008c | Afghanistan | 4452 | Women | Mean 25 (SD ± 5.7) | “assess prevalence and correlates of prior contraceptive use among hospitalized obstetric patients in Kabul, Afghanistan.” |
Ngianga-Bakwin 2005c | Nine countries in Africae | 50,596 | Birth intervals | NR | “investigate associations between use of depot-medroxyprogesterone acetate and other reversible contraception and short birth intervals in sub-Saharan Africa.” |
Sirivong 2003c | Laos | 298 | Women | 15 to 49 | “find out whether or not the training of traditional birth attendants had an impact on reproductive health.” |
Atkin 1992d | Mexico | 137 | Women (adolescents) | < 18 | “identifies and explores selected background, pregnancy, and postpartum predictors of short-interval repeat pregnancy among urban Mexican adolescents who were single when they conceived their first pregnancy.” |
Achadi 1991c | Indonesia | 6826 | Birth intervals | NR | “examine the relative impact of breastfeeding and family planning use on birth spacing patterns in two major regions of Indonesia.” |
Franca-Junior 1985c | Brazil | 345 | Children | NR | “investigate the interpregnancy interval and its relationship with breastfeeding”(translated from Portuguese). |
Studies reporting HR | |||||
Blackwell 2015d | Bolivia | 986 | Women | NR | “investigated associations between intestinal helminths and fertility in women.” |
Mattison 2015c | Tanzania | 315 | Children | 2 to 7mean 4.5 (SD ± 1.6) | “ask whether breastfeeding for more than 2 years is associated with discernible health and well-being benefits to children.” |
Erfani 2014c | Iran | 9071 | Women | 15 to 49 | “study the determinants of change in the timing of births.” |
Fallahzadeh 2013c | Iran | 400 | Women | 15 to 49 | “identify the duration and determinants of inter birth intervals among women of reproductive age in the city of Yazd.” |
Singh 2012c | India | 7624 | Women | NR | “see the effect of breastfeeding as a time-varying and time-dependent factor on birth spacing in order to provide input to policy planners.” |
Dommaraju 2008c | India | 64,943 | Women | 15 to 49 | “investigates the complex relationship between marriage age and marital fertility by examining the initiation of childbearing and the transition to higher order births by marriage cohorts in India.” |
Hossain 2007d | Bangladesh | 31,324 | Birth intervals | Mean 21.8 | “examine the relationship between child mortality and subsequent fertility.” |
Ly 2006ba | Senegal | 134 | Children and their moms | 3.5 months old babies | “assess the effects of early, short-term food supplementation of infants (from 4 to 7 months of age) on maternal weight change, duration of breastfeeding and birth interval in a rural West African community.” |
Gyimah 2005c | Ghana | 10,975 | Women | 15 to 49 | “[examines] the relative socio-economic vis-a-vis socio-cultural factors on the timing of births.” |
Upadhyay 2005c | Philippines | 1123 | Women | 26 to 49mean 37 | “look at whether women’s status and autonomy affect birth-to-conception intervals.” |
Youssef 2005c | Jordan | 4349 | Birth intervals | 15–49mean 32.2(SD ± 7.1) | “identify the duration and determinants of interbirth intervals among women of reproductive age in one region of Jordan.” |
van Eijk 2004c | Kenya | 2218 | Women | 14 to 30+ | “studied factors associated with short pregnancy interval (PI) and the effect of PI on birthweight and haemoglobin.” |
Hoa 1996c | Vietnam | 1132 | Women | NR | “explore the reproductive pattern of women in rural Vietnam in relation to the existing family planning policies and laws.” |
Nair 1996c | India | 1829 | Women | < 35 | “examine changes in the timing of birth and the important factors determining birth intervals.” |
Adewuyi 1990c | Nigeria | 8818 | Women | NR | “examine regional variations in birth interval length as reported in the Nigerian Fertility Survey and the pattern in the variation of birth interval length at different parities. [...] examination of the correlates of birth interval length in the country.” |
Lehrer 1984c | Malaysia | 1200 | Women | < 50 | “test the hypothesis that the impact of child mortality on spacing varies across parities.” |
Mixed-methods studies | |||||
Dehne 2003 | Burkina Faso | 350 | Community members | 15–49 | “document current trends in knowledge of, attitudes towards, and relating to traditional and modern child-spacing methods in a remote area in northern Burkina Faso.” |
Qualitative studies | |||||
De Vera 2007 | Philippines | 7 | Couples (husbands and wives) | 20 to 47 | “describe perceptions of birth spacing among rural Filipino husbands and wives.” |
Social & Rural Research Institute 2003 | India | 34 | Focus groups | 17 to 30 | “understand knowledge, attitudes, behaviors and practices with respect to birth spacing; determine the factors that motivate birth spacing among those who practice spacing; identify barriers to adoption of spacing methods; understanding knowledge, attitudes and practices of health personnel and institutional support towards birth-spacing.” |
Dean 1994 | Kenya | 153 participants | Community groups | NR | “examine the beliefs held and concepts behind childbearing practices in the rural communities of West Pokot District in Kenya and the concrete changes in these practices that have occurred.” |
Chad Ministry of Public Health 1992 | Chad | 16 focus groups with 160 men and women | Focus groups | 18 to 40 | “1. Learn how Chadian men and women feel about the concept of family wellbeing; 2. Explore men and women’s understanding of modern family planning methods and family well-being, including rumors and misconceptions; 3. Examine the influence of religion on the use of family planning among Chadian men and women; 4. Examine the image Chadian women and men have of a family planning user.” |
Kiluvia 1991 | Tanzania | 50 | Focus groups | 15 to 35+ | “identify persuasive, educational, and appealing family planning messages for radio and print materials. […] To learn why Tanzanian couples choose to space their births.” |
Van de Walle 1986 | Burkina Faso | 80 | Women | NR | “revisited 80 women, for a longer description of their postpartum experiences.” |
Millard 1984 | Mexico | 285 | Women | > 15 | “shows how cultural systems, in addition to biological constraints, shape lactation patterns and endow breastfeeding with social significance.” |
Lovel 1983 | Zimbawe | 204 | Women | NR | “women with at least one child under five were asked about reasons for birth spacing in their parents’ generation.” |
Adeokun 1982 | Nigeria | NR | Families | NR | “marital sexual relationships (MSR) and the timing of the next child among the Ekiti and Ikale sub-groups of the Yoruba.” |
Adeokun 1981 | Nigeria | 24 | Families | NR | “investigate the patterns of maternal and child care, the parents’ perception of the timing of various milestones in the development of their children, and to seek the links between marital sexuality, child development and the timing of a next child (other than the first).” |