The effects of sex, birthweight, birth order and maternal age on infant mortality in a Nigerian community

Abstract

Corrected registration returns in a rural area of Nigeria [Africa] show that the average infant mortality rate during one 5 yr period was 88.2/1000 per annum. The rate was 89.4/1000 for females, which did not differ significantly from that of 87.0/1000 for males. There were significant variations in the rates by maternal age and by birth order. Of the infant deaths 42% were of low birth-weight. The mortality rate among this group was approximately 6 times as high as for those with greater weights.