Analysis of the Determinants of Premarital Fertility in Benin using Cox's Survival Model

This study focused on premarital fertility in Benin. It examined, in particular, the factors that influence this phenomenon based on data from five Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) conducted in the country in 1996, 2001, 2006, 2011-2012, and 2017- 2018. Using a Cox model or proportional hazards model, the study sought to explain the instantaneous risk of being a mother during a period of celibacy according to the socio-demographic, socio-cultural, and socio- economic characteristics of Beninese women. The results indicate that residing in the departments of Atacora, Donga, Borgou, or Alibori, having close family ties with the head of household or having no family ties at all, having a low level of education (primary or uneducated), or living in a poor household promotes premarital procreation. In addition, belonging to the Muslim religious group less predisposes single women to procreate (in this status) compared to other groups