The Socio-Economic Determinants of Anemic Pregnancies in South Asia – Empirical Evidence from National Aggregates

Anaemia is the most common and prevalent maternal health issue in developing countries. It is a global challenge, not only for poorer populations of the world but also for developed countries. South Asia is part of the developing world and is severely affected by the problem of anaemia in pregnant women. The region also stands out in the pervasiveness of child marriages; in fact, it accounts for about half of the total child marriages occurring globally. The high incidence stems from socio-economic misery, prevalent in the form of gender inequality, male-dominated family culture, orthodox ethnic norms and inaccessibility to information on reproductive health. Unlike earlier studies which sought evidence more from cross-sectional data sets, this study investigates the explanatory power of adolescent fertility and low health expenditure on exceptionally high rates of anaemic pregnancies using modern econometric techniques with longer data sets comprising national aggregates. The results strongly suggest that for seven regional states, the proposed relationship holds valid. The robustness of short-run individual country estimates is challenged by testing the relationship through modern long-run pooled data estimators. The results are reasonably encouraging, recognizing the significant role of adolescent fertility and low levels of health spending, thus determining trend patterns of anaemic pregnancies region-wide.