Maternal Self-rated Capability Status and Its Association with Under-Five Children Morbidity.

Background: Under-five morbidity is a significant public health concern in developing countries, and maternal intervention remains vital to achieving under-five optimal health.

Objective: The study examined the influence of maternal self-rated capability status (SCS) on under-five morbidity in Ibadan North Local Government Area (LGA), Oyo State, Nigeria.

Methods: The study interviewed 683 nursing mothers surveyed from 20 primary healthcare centers (PHCs) from 13th to 27th September 2018 in the LGA of study. We employed logistic regression models to examine the association of 4 domains of maternal SCS on under-five morbidity incidence controlling for the potential confounding effects of maternal, child, and household sociodemographic attributes.

Results: Under-five children of mothers with poor status in the knowledge of child morbidity, experience-informed action, child morbidity exposure, and childcare vulnerability domains are, respectively, 497%, 323%, 400%, and 318% more likely to be at risk of morbidity than their peers born to mothers with good status. In addition, the odds of morbidity were lower for children born to women with more than 1 under-five children (AOR: 0.49, 95% CI: 0.27, 0.88), while the odds were higher for those from households that are food-insecure (AOR: 3.16, 95% CI: 1.31, 7.65) and dispose of wastes within the compound (AOR: 2.67, 95% CI: 1.31, 5.45) relative to children in the comparative categories.

Conclusion: Our findings revealed the significance of maternal SCS as a crucial pathway for understanding and reducing under-five morbidity. Community interventions should prioritize empowering nursing mothers with prevention and care information necessary to reduce the under-five morbidity burden at the community level.