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

Boerma, J. T.; Vianen, H.A.W. van

doi:10.1017/s0021932000015303

Cited by 12 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 10 publications

(9 reference statements)

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“…In Senegal, the risk of stunting-height-for-age below -2 standard deviations from the NCHS/WHO reference population-was more than two times greater among children whose preceding birth interval was shorter than two years, compared with other children (Goldberg and M'Bodji, 1985). Studies in Kenya (Boerma and van Vianen, 1984) and Nigeria (Doyle et al, 1978) did not find a significant relationship between preceding birth interval and growth of the child.…”

Section: Child Health and Health-service Utilizationmentioning

confidence: 79%

Preceding Birth Intervals and Child Survival: Searching for Pathways of Influence

Boerma¹,

Bicego²

1992

Studies in Family Planning

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The importance of the length of preceding birth intervals for the survival chances of young children has been established, but the debate concerning the causal biomedical or behavioral mechanisms continues. This article uses data from 17 Demographic and Health Surveys to investigate the effect of birth intervals on child mortality: Anthropometry of children, recent morbidity of children, and use of health services are examined in addition to child survival data for children born in the five years before the survey. Various methodological approaches are used to investigate the relative importance of the postulated mechanisms linking birth intervals and child survival. Short preceding birth intervals are associated with increased mortality risks in the neonatal period and at 1-6 months of age, and, to a much lesser extent, at 7-23 months of age. The effects of short birth intervals on nutritional status are rather moderate, and there is a weak relationship with lower attendance at prenatal care services. No consistent relationship exists between the length of birth intervals and other health status or health-service utilization variables. The results indicate that prenatal mechanisms are more important than postnatal factors, such as sibling competition, in explaining the causal nature of the birth interval effect.

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Section: Child Health and Health-service Utilizationmentioning

confidence: 79%

Preceding Birth Intervals and Child Survival: Searching for Pathways of Influence

Boerma¹,

Bicego²

1992

Studies in Family Planning

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“…In Machakos, Kenya, no effect of a short preceding interval on the survival or growth of the index child was found. Because of the small number of deaths, effects of short succeeding intervals were difficult to establish but there were suggestions of enhanced risk of death (Boerma & Van Vianen, 1984). Ronsmans (1996) utilized longitudinal data on rural Senegalese children born between 1983 and 1989.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Birth Spacing and Child Mortality: An Analysis of Prospective Data From the Nairobi Urban Health and Demographic Surveillance System

et al. 2012

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SummaryThe majority of studies of the birth spacing–child survival relationship rely on retrospective data, which are vulnerable to errors that might bias results. The relationship is re-assessed using prospective data on 13,502 children born in two Nairobi slums between 2003 and 2009. Nearly 48% were first births. Among the remainder, short preceding intervals are common: 20% of second and higher order births were delivered within 24 months of an elder sibling, including 9% with a very short preceding interval of less than 18 months. After adjustment for potential confounders, the length of the preceding birth interval is a major determinant of infant and early childhood mortality. In infancy, a preceding birth interval of less than 18 months is associated with a two-fold increase in mortality risks (compared with lengthened intervals of 36 months or longer), while an interval of 18–23 months is associated with an increase of 18%. During the early childhood period, children born within 18 months of an elder sibling are more than twice as likely to die as those born after an interval of 36 months or more. Only 592 children experienced the birth of a younger sibling within 20 months; their second-year mortality was about twice as high as that of other children. These results support the findings based on retrospective data.

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“…Early weaning in the PA group is-therefore correlate with subsequent birth intkrval, only for the shortest intervals. A study from Kenya concluded that a short subsequent interval is not an important threat to children's growth, as only 10% of the intervals are in this category (1). For more moderate intervals, the evidence is weak (21).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, reports on its association with subsequent birth interval are conflicting. Most authors have found an association only for very short intervals ( < 18 or < 24 months) (1,2). A study from Senegal could not find any evidence of an association between subsequent birth interval and growth (3).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Subsequent pregnancy affects nutritional status of previous child: a study from Bhutan

Bøhler

Singey²,

Bergström

1995

Acta Paediatrica

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In a rural area of Bhutan, anthropometric measurements of 113 children and interviews with their mothers were carried out monthly for 32 months. The purpose of the study was to investigate the effect of a mother's subsequent pregnancy on growth in weight of her last-born child. The children whose mothers had a subsequent birth interval of 18-30 months were matched for date of birth with children whose mothers did not become pregnant. Growth of the children during the subsequent pregnancy was compared with growth during the same period of children whose mothers were not pregnant. A statistically significant reduction of 28% was found (p < 0.05), which was most pronounced in early pregnancy. A similar trend was found for change in mid-upper-arm circumference (p < 0.05). The study provides evidence of a causal relationship between a moderate subsequent pregnancy interval and a concurrent reduction in growth rate for the previous child.

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

Cited by 12 publications

References 10 publications

Preceding Birth Intervals and Child Survival: Searching for Pathways of Influence

Preceding Birth Intervals and Child Survival: Searching for Pathways of Influence

Birth Spacing and Child Mortality: An Analysis of Prospective Data From the Nairobi Urban Health and Demographic Surveillance System

Subsequent pregnancy affects nutritional status of previous child: a study from Bhutan

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