Table 1. Characteristics of women interviewed during the Malawi Demographic and Health Surveys conducted between 2004 and 2016.
| Characteristics | Total | 2004–5 | 2010 | 2015–16 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | |
| Total | 26386 | 100.0 | 6012 | 100.0 | 10802 | 100.0 | 9572 | 100.0 |
| Age group | ||||||||
| 15–19 | 2671 | 10.0 | 602 | 9.7 | 997 | 9.0 | 1072 | 11.3 |
| 20–24 | 8212 | 31.4 | 2081 | 35.4 | 3118 | 29.4 | 3013 | 31.3 |
| 25–29 | 6542 | 24.9 | 1486 | 25.0 | 2903 | 26.8 | 2153 | 22.8 |
| 30–34 | 4507 | 16.9 | 894 | 14.4 | 1897 | 17.4 | 1716 | 17.9 |
| 35–39 | 2889 | 10.9 | 583 | 9.7 | 1221 | 11.2 | 1085 | 11.3 |
| 40–44 | 1176 | 4.4 | 273 | 4.4 | 491 | 4.6 | 412 | 4.3 |
| 45–49 | 389 | 1.4 | 93 | 1.4 | 175 | 1.6 | 121 | 1.3 |
| Region | ||||||||
| North | 4506 | 15.1 | 746 | 12.4 | 1955 | 15.1 | 1805 | 16.7 |
| Centre | 9204 | 38.3 | 2247 | 40.1 | 3679 | 38.3 | 3278 | 37.3 |
| South | 12676 | 46.6 | 3019 | 47.5 | 5168 | 46.6 | 4489 | 46.0 |
| Number of children ever born | ||||||||
| 1 | 5787 | 22.2 | 1284 | 21.4 | 2023 | 19.0 | 2480 | 26.2 |
| 2–3 | 9621 | 36.7 | 2212 | 37.3 | 3859 | 36.2 | 3550 | 37.0 |
| 4–5 | 6274 | 23.6 | 1376 | 22.7 | 2713 | 24.8 | 2185 | 22.8 |
| 6+ | 4704 | 17.5 | 1140 | 18.5 | 2207 | 20.1 | 1357 | 14.0 |
| Education level | ||||||||
| None | 4274 | 16.1 | 1481 | 24.0 | 1711 | 15.9 | 1082 | 11.5 |
| Primary | 17753 | 67.1 | 3859 | 64.8 | 7517 | 69.0 | 6377 | 66.5 |
| Secondary | 4104 | 15.7 | 659 | 11.0 | 1507 | 14.4 | 1938 | 20.0 |
| Tertiary | 255 | 1.1 | 13 | 0.2 | 67 | 0.7 | 175 | 1.9 |
| Wealth index quintile | ||||||||
| Poorest | 5768 | 21.9 | 1160 | 18.7 | 2439 | 22.3 | 2169 | 23.2 |
| Poorer | 5934 | 22.4 | 1392 | 23.2 | 2446 | 22.4 | 2096 | 22.0 |
| Middle | 5670 | 21.3 | 1389 | 23.4 | 2428 | 22.1 | 1853 | 19.1 |
| Richer | 4968 | 18.6 | 1183 | 19.7 | 2030 | 18.6 | 1755 | 18.0 |
| Richest | 4046 | 15.8 | 888 | 14.9 | 1459 | 14.6 | 1699 | 17.7 |
| Residence | ||||||||
| Urban | 3240 | 12.9 | 655 | 11.2 | 1037 | 11.1 | 1548 | 16.0 |
| Rural | 23146 | 87.1 | 5357 | 88.8 | 9765 | 88.9 | 8024 | 84.0 |
| Sources of antenatal care knowledge | ||||||||
| Frequency of listening to radio | ||||||||
| Less than once a week | 13571 | 52.0 | 2146 | 35.4 | 4767 | 44.7 | 6658 | 70.3 |
| At least once a week | 12815 | 48.0 | 3866 | 64.6 | 6035 | 55.3 | 2914 | 29.7 |
| Frequency of watching television | ||||||||
| Less than once a week | 24136 | 91.4 | 5732 | 95.5 | 9762 | 90.0 | 8642 | 90.6 |
| At least once a week | 2250 | 8.6 | 280 | 4.5 | 1040 | 10.0 | 930 | 9.4 |
| Barriers to access antenatal care | ||||||||
| Permission to visit health services | ||||||||
| No problem | 23076 | 87.2 | 5490 | 91.5 | 9524 | 87.9 | 8062 | 83.8 |
| Big problem | 3310 | 12.8 | 522 | 8.5 | 1278 | 12.1 | 1510 | 16.2 |
| Money to pay for health services | ||||||||
| No problem | 11893 | 44.6 | 2157 | 35.4 | 4948 | 46.1 | 4788 | 48.6 |
| Big problem | 14493 | 55.4 | 3855 | 64.6 | 5854 | 53.9 | 4784 | 51.4 |
| Distance to health facilities | ||||||||
| No problem | 10910 | 41.4 | 2224 | 36.7 | 4274 | 40.6 | 4412 | 45.2 |
| Big problem | 15476 | 58.6 | 3788 | 63.3 | 6528 | 59.4 | 5160 | 54.8 |
| Presence of companion | ||||||||
| No problem | 18762 | 70.6 | 4411 | 73.7 | 7380 | 67.8 | 6971 | 71.9 |
| Big problem | 7624 | 29.4 | 1601 | 26.3 | 3422 | 32.2 | 2601 | 28.1 |
| No drugs at health facility | ||||||||
| No problem | 13473 | 49.7 | 6012 | 100.0 | 4253 | 38.5 | 3208 | 31.4 |
| Big problem | 12913 | 50.3 | 0 | 0.0 | 6549 | 61.5 | 6364 | 68.6 |
| No female provider | ||||||||
| No problem | 20981 | 79.3 | 5158 | 86.1 | 8419 | 77.4 | 7404 | 77.2 |
| Big problem | 5405 | 20.7 | 854 | 13.9 | 2383 | 22.6 | 2168 | 22.8 |
| Marital status | ||||||||
| Never married | 871 | 3.3 | 138 | 2.2 | 281 | 2.6 | 452 | 4.7 |
| Married | 22522 | 85.4 | 5257 | 87.7 | 9311 | 86.3 | 7954 | 83.1 |
| Widowed | 445 | 1.7 | 113 | 2.0 | 185 | 1.7 | 147 | 1.5 |
| Divorced | 2548 | 9.6 | 504 | 8.1 | 1025 | 9.5 | 1019 | 10.7 |
% = weighted percentage.