Factors Associated with Infant Deaths in Indonesia: An Analysis of the 2012 and 2017 Indonesia Demographic and Health Surveys

Abstract

Background This exploratory study aimed to investigate factors related to infant deaths using a conceptual framework that explains the risk factors of infant deaths in developing countries. Methods The study adopted a cross-sectional study design and used data from the 2012 and 2017 Indonesia Demographic and Health Surveys, with a sample of 3694 singleton live births in 2012 and 3413 in 2017. Results Female infants had a lower chance of mortality compared to male infants [adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 0.51; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.34–0.77]. Infants with a smaller birth size had a higher risk of infant death compared to those with an average size (aOR = 5.66; 95% CI = 3.66–8.77). The risk of infant death with a preceding birth interval of ≥24 months was lower than that with a preceding birth interval of <24 months (aOR = 0.48; 95% CI = 0.26–0.90). An older maternal age was a risk factor for infant death compared to younger mothers (aOR = 3.61; 95% CI = 1.42–9.23). Infants who were born in Sumatra (aOR = 0.38; 95% CI = 0.16–0.89) and Java and Bali (aOR = 0.33; 95% CI = 0.14–0.78) were less likely to die than infants who were born in Papua and Maluku. Conclusions A higher infant death risk was associated with male babies and a shorter birth interval (<24 months). Mothers who perceived their babies to be small and mothers who were older (35–49 years old) were high-risk factors for infant mortality. Mothers who lived in Java and Bali as well as Sumatera were less likely to experience infant mortality compared to those who lived in Papua and Maluku.

Community and individual level determinants of infant mortality in rural Ethiopia using data from 2016 Ethiopian demographic and health survey

“…Similarly, infants born with a small birth size had a higher risk of infant mortality than infants born with a large birth size. This result is in line with the previous findings in Ethiopia 19 , 20 , Bangladesh 14 , 42 and Indonesia 43 . Poor nutritional status may have an impact on size at birth, which may have an impact on the risk of newborn mortality 19 .…”

Short birth interval in the Asia-Pacific region: A systematic review and meta-analysis

“…It is important to note, however, that the reported prevalence rates varied significantly even among the studies that used relatively similar approaches and were conducted in comparable settings [69,70]. This was also observed among the studies that reported following the WHO's recommendation [14,17,[36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44], indicating that not only the methodological differences but also other contextual factors might have also contributed to the observed variation.…”

“…Further, 53 studies were specific to short birth interval and reported on either the prevalence or the predictors and 87 studies were not specific to short birth interval but considered birth interval as a covariate (Table S6 in the Online Supplementary Document). Characteristics of the studies that followed the WHO recommendation [14,17,[36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44] for the definition and classification of short birth interval are presented in Table 1.…”

Associations Between Indoor Air Pollutants and Risk Factors for Acute Respiratory Infection Symptoms in Children Under 5: An Analysis of Data From the Indonesia Demographic Health Survey

“…First, the IDHS is nationally representative and has a high response rate (97-99%) [ 16 ]. Second, a standardized questionnaire was used, which has been validated by many previous research studies [ 16 ]. However, there are also some limitations.…”

“…Significance was determined using a p-value <0.05 and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Potential components for the multivariate analysis were included based on bivariate analysis with a p-value <0.2 [ 16 ]. The first step involved incorporating household characteristics in the multivariate analyses, followed by the addition of parental characteristics to the final model.…”