Postneonatal mortality in the Matroosberg Divisional Council area of the Cape Western Health Region
Molteno, C.D.; Kibel, M.A.
South African Medical Journal 75(12): 575-578
1989
ISSN/ISBN: 0256-9574 PMID: 2727858 Document Number: 368271
Postneonatal deaths in the Matroosberg Divisional Council area were studied with particular reference to social and nutritional factors. Adverse social circumstances were strongly associated with death during the first year of life. The children who died had fathers who were less educated and held lower rated jobs than fathers of children in a control group. They were less likely to have belonged to a nuclear family and were more likely to have had families with social problems. They were also more frequently bottle-fed, were more likely to have been underweight, and were less often fully immunised. The study illustrates the need for a GOBI-FFF intervention strategy in the area.