Socio-economic Condition of Mothers and Infant Mortality Rate
CHAPTER ONE
Research Objectives
General Objectives
The general objective was to establish how socio economic condition of mothers influences infant mortality in Jos North L.G.A.
Specific Objectives
- To establish whether socio-economic condition of mothers influenced infant mortality in Jos North L.G.A.?
- To determine whether maternal education influenced infant mortality in Jos North L.G.A.?
- To find out whether income level affects infant mortality in Jos North L.G.A.?
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
Theoretical background
According to Mosley and Chen (1984), all social and economic determinants of child mortality necessarily operate through a common set of biological mechanisms, or proximate determinants (intermediate variables) to directly influence the risk of mortality. This study adopts this approach to compare how socio-economic factors contribute to infant mortality in Jos North L.G.A.
Figure 1 below illustrates the path to a healthy child or a sick child and eventual death. The socioeconomic factors operate through maternal, biological, environmental, nutritional and health seeking behaviour factors leading to a healthy child or sick child.
This framework assumes that in an optimal setting, over ninety-seven per cent of newborn infants can be expected to survive through the first five years of life, and that reduction in this survival probability in any society is due to the operation of social, economic, biological and environmental forces. It further assumes that impact of poverty (independent variables) must operate through more basic proximate determinants that in turn influence the risk of disease and the outcome of disease processes.
And that specific diseases and nutrient deficiencies observed in a surviving population may be viewed as biological indicators of the operations of the proximate determinants.
Growth faltering and ultimately mortality too in children (the dependent variable) are the cumulative consequences of multiple disease processes (including their biosocial interactions). Only infrequently is a child‘s death the result of a single isolated episode (Ibid).
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CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research Design
Aaker et al (2002) defines a research design as the detailed blue print used to guide a research study towards its objectives. Method design, sample design and analysis design was used. Cross section studies were used during data collection. According to Saunders et al (2004) a cross sectional design allows data to be collected at a single point in time without repetitions from a sample selected to represent some large population and therefore using minimum time and resources. In this study, the design was favourable because of limited resources like time, labour (personnel) and transport.
Sampling Procedure
The study population involved all the communities in Jos North Local Government Area of Plateau State. The main target groups of sampling were the nurses and nursing mothers. The sampling methods that were used to get the required sample included systematic random sampling and purposive sampling techniques.
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA ANALYSIS AND RESULT PRESENTATION
Distribution of births by the study variables
Table 1 below summarizes the frequencies and percentages of the variables used in the study of the area.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Summary of findings
This project attempted to examine the effects of socio-economic condition of mothers and infant mortality in North Jos. The study used a combined data for the area to achieve this objective.
The study found out that the type of birth, whether single or multiple, was negatively associated with infant mortality in the area under the study. An indication that infant children born to mothers through multiple births were less likely to experience mortality before their fifth birth day. This is a unique outcome from what many research studies have found out, but it is possible from the researcher‘s findings that despite the small number of multiple births reported for the area, it can occur that such births when they occur in towns tend to receive maximum attention from their mothers and relatives to the extent that all the twins or the triplets are able to survive to their fifth birthday. Alternatively, when such births occur in families with high socio-economic status, then the children who are products of such births tend to live long to surpass their fifth birthday since their mothers can adequately provide for their needs just having one child.
In addition, the study also revealed that the age of the mother at birth was an important factor in determining infant mortality in the cities under study. This finding that infant children born to mothers in ages less than 20 years were more likely to experience high mortality compared to those who were born to mothers whose ages were between 20-34 years.
Nevertheless, this study found out that mothers whose ages were 35 years and above were less likely to contribute to infant mortality in the area than those whose ages were in the middle at 20- 34 years of age. At the bivariate analysis level, women whose ages ranged between 20 to 34 years were significant at p=0.025, while when the socio-economic factors were fitted in the model, this level was insignificant in predicting the outcome. At multivariate analysis, the third category of women whose ages were 35 years and above was statistically significant thus indicating that the age of the mother has an important influence in the infant mortality experienced in the area.
This study further revealed that infant children whose mothers did not have proper toilets were most likely to experience infant mortality in the area under study than those children who come from households with proper toilets. This finding is confirmed by Hala (2002) who found out in a study that was carried out in Egypt that access to water and proper sanitation impact on child mortality and that access to municipal water decreases the risk of child mortality, but sanitation was found to have a more significant impact on mortality than water. Access to proper toilet facilities help to improve on sanitation thus reducing the occurrence of infant mortality.
This study also found out that place of delivery was also statistically significant in explaining infant mortality in the area covered in the study. Infant children who were delivered in private facilities were more likely to die than those who had their births at home. This outcome contradicts what is known in literature that deliveries done at are at high risk of death than those done in health facilities. This can partly be explained by the findings of Chinkhumba et al (2014) that pregnant mothers delivering in facilities have a significant higher risk of experiencing a maternal death and so to their newborns, than women delivering at home because those seeking care at facilities may be complicated cases with higher risk of mortality. They further assert that in such settings, higher mortality at facilities would be expected due to high risk selection.
Conclusion
The study intended to establish the influence of socio-economic condition of mothers and infant mortality in North Jos. It found out that the wealth of mothers, the education of the mother and the work status of the mother play an important role in the choice of place of residence that will ensure easy access to proper toilet facilities, healthcare services and late entry into marriage owing to the level of education of the mother, to influence infant mortality in the three major cities of North Jos. This study confirms the theory of Mosley and Chen(1984) in explaining that socio-economic factors of the household act through the proximate determinants such as maternal factors, environmental factors and health-seeking behaviour to influence infant mortality in cities of North Jos.
Recommendation 5.4.1Recommendations for policy
The governments of the area in the study should encourage compulsory education up to secondary level in order to delay early marriages. This will help the girl-child to experience child birth after attaining the age of twenty and above. This will further help in increasing their knowledge in health issues, a factor that will lead to reduced infant mortality in the cities. Having higher education will also increase chances of mothers participating in labour opportunities which lead to women empowerment and their decision making moreso in the choice of health matters.
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