Inequalities in Child Malnutrition in Honduras and Nicaragua : The role of antenatal care

This study seeks to analyze the role of antenatal care in determining children malnutrition inequalities among the population living in the rural and urban areas of Honduras and Nicaragua. Using Demographic and Health Surveys for Honduras and Ministry of Health (MINSA) Database for Nicaragua, as well as interviews with professional physicians and patients in the Antenatal Care Department of Health Centers, this study presents updated empirical evidence for these two Latin American countries. Complete or incomplete antenatal care does not seem to have an effect on child’s health and postnatal growth. A potential explanation is that the relation between antenatal care and a newborn’s health depends on the geographical location, health care facility and quality of antenatal care women received during the pregnancy period. In well-developed countries, the role of antenatal care may be considered significant to determine child’s health due to low socioeconomic discrepancies and equal accessibility and quality of antenatal care. In the case of Honduras and Nicaragua, socioeconomic differences and genetic factors are the two main aspects influencing malnutrition. These findings indicate that in order to tackle child malnutrition among children, income inequalities need to be overcome and quality of care should improve in order to consider antenatal care as policy tool to reduce children malnutrition.