Mother's age, birth order and health status in a British national sample

Abstract

Using data from a longitudinal study of a national sample of British children, it is shown that mother's age and experience with child rearing are related to the attention paid to the child's health. Younger mothers, whose children are usually the first born, tend to be more concerned with health care facility use than are older mothers of children born subsequently. Younger mothers more often take their child to infant and toddler clinics, and are more likely to have their child immunized against the most threatening of childhood diseases. It is also the younger mothers who more often seek medical care for their children in addition to that provided in the infant and toddler clinics, more often have their child in hospital overnight, and more often report the child to be sickly (less healthy) than do older mothers with several children.

Key words:

• mother's age
• birth order
• child health
• British national sample