Demographic and Maternal Correlates of Infant and Child Mortality in Bangladesh

Multivariate analysis of the effects of maternal age at birth, birth order and the preceding birth interval on mortality risks in early childhood, using data from the Bangladesh Fertility Survey, 1975-76, confirms that the length of the preceding birth interval is the most influential single factor. But the lower mortality risks among infants and children of educated mothers are due neither to the age at which childbearing was initiated nor to the spacing between births.

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Maternal factors and infant and child mortality in Bangladesh

Majumder

1988

“…However, from a methodological point of view, a number of these studies have serious shortcomings (Gray, 1981), mainly because the control for influences of maternal age and parity, the outcome of the previous pregnancy, and the socioeconomic circumstances has been omitted. Analyses presented by Fedrick & Adelstein (1973), Wolfers & Scrimshaw (1975), and Edmonston (1983), are examples of studies which take these variables into account, especially maternal age and parity. Generally, an increased mortality risk in the neonatal and postneonatal period is reported for children with short retrospective intervals, in particular if the interval is less than 1 year.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Birth interval, mortality and growth of children in a rural area in Kenya

Boerma

Vianen

1984

This paper analyses the impact of the length of birth intervals on mortality and growth of young children. An attempt has been made to improve the methodology of birth interval studies and the results of an analysis of longitudinal data from a rural area in Kenya with a relatively favourable level of health are presented. It is shown that children with short retrospective or short prospective birth intervals do not run a higher risk of mortality or growth retardation than children with longer intervals, neither during the perinatal period nor during the first 2 years of life. This suggests that the socioeconomic setting, in which a birth interval study is carried out, is of ultimate importance.

Demographic and Maternal Correlates of Infant and Child Mortality in Bangladesh

Edmonston

1983

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This paper analyses the influence of maternal factors (mother's age, parity, prior birth interval, and subsequent birth interval) on mortality risk for 2150 Bangladeshi infants and children, taking the sex and age of the child into account. Logistic regression estimates from retrospective maternal birth histories for the period 1966-75 reveal age and sex patterns consistent with previous research. These estimates also demonstrate that there are associations with mother's age and parity, but that prior birth interval emerges as the strongest predictor of mortality risk. It appears that part of the mortality risk of mother's age and parity actually stems from association with shorter prior birth interval, a factor to which infant and child health programmes need to give more attention.