Education and infant survival in rural Bangladesh

• Published in: Health Policy and Education Vol. 2; no. 3; pp. 369 - 374
• Main Author: Alauddin Chowdhury, A.K.M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier Ireland Ltd 01.03.1982; Elsevier Limited
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Bangladesh; Educational Status; Female; Health administration; Humans; Infant; Infant Mortality; Male; Middle Aged; Mothers; Population; Prospective Studies; Regression Analysis; Rural Health; Socioeconomic Factors; Bangladesh; Measurement; Body Weight; Infant Mortality; Growth; Socioeconomic Status; Biology; Educational Status; Research Methodology; Socioeconomic Factors; Incidence; Fetal Death; Rural Population; Population Characteristics; Population; Child Development; Physiology; Demographic Factors; Mortality; Southern Asia; Birth Weight; Economic Factors; Bangladesh; Asia; Developing Countries; Population Dynamics
• ISSN: 0165-2281; 0168-8510; 1872-6054
• DOI: 10.1016/0165-2281(82)90017-0

This paper explores the mechanism through which socioeconomic status affects infant deaths. The data used here come from a prospective study in rural Bangladesh. Both neonatal deaths and postneonatal deaths were found to be higher in number among those whose mothers have no schooling. Again, education of the mother has been found to be related to gestational month at termination and this gestational month at termination (which is the maturity of the newborn) determines the neonatal death. The other factors affecting infant mortality were the height of the mother and the weight of the infant. The taller the mother, the fewer the neonatal and post-natal deaths. The weight of the infant has a direct relationship to its survival during infancy.