Factors associated with birth registrations in Indonesia

Abstract

Introduction: Considering the importance of birth registration for children, the government has been put a policy in place to provide legal recognition of a child’s identity. This study aims to examine the factors associated with birth registration among children aged one-four years in Indonesia.

Methods: A cross-sectional design was applied in this study using data from the 2017 Indonesian demographic and health survey. A sample of 15,624 mothers with children aged one-four years were included in this research as the subjects. To examine the associated factors, Chi-square tests and binary logistic regression were used.

Results: The prevalence of children’s birth registrations in Indonesia was 77.9%. Multivariate analysis showed that the mother variables, such as mothers aged between 35 and 39 years (odds ratio [OR]=1.69, 95% confidence interval [CI]=1.22-2.33), their higher education levels (OR=4.63, CI=2.93-7.30), their current marital status (OR=2.0, CI=1.48-2.66), the richest quintile (OR=5.04, CI=3.91-6.50), living in the west Indonesian region (OR=2.85, CI=2.29-3.55), were significantly associated with a higher possibility of registering the child’s birth. In the same vein, the variables of being born at a health facility (OR=1.23, CI=1.04-1.46), being assisted by a skilled birth attendant (OR=1.72, CI=1.39-2.15), female children (OR=1.28, CI=1.16-1.43), and children aged four years old (OR=8.07, CI=6.72-9.69), were the factors associated with birth registration in Indonesia.

Conclusion: Our study showed that birth registrations related to the demographic, socioeconomic, and health services are given to the family, particularly mother and child. Structured policies to improve the birth registration rate for the less privileged or vulnerable groups, poor and limited access to health services should be considered in the long run.