Paper Title
A Deterministic Model for Late Pregnancy among Ghanaian Women

Abstract
Low birth weight is known to be one of the leading causes of child mortality particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. In this study, we formulate and analyze a deterministic model of aged women giving birth to low birth weight babies. The basic properties of model are studied and key parameters were also estimated. The basic reproduction number is computed and the steady states of the system also studied and found to be locally asymptotically stable. Time dependent controls are included in the model and Pontryagin’s Maximum Principle is employed to characterize the necessary conditions for optimal control of low birth weight. The numerical simulation results indicate that the best strategy to minimize the low birth weight incidence is to concentrate on the three controls at the same time. Keywords - Low birth weight, optimal control, basic reproduction number, stability, invariant region.