Infant mortality and socio-economic development in Mauritius.

Abstract

Infant mortality calls for a special mention in socioeconomic development as it is a sensitive indicator of general health conditions and can serve as an index of life expectancy. Life expectancy at birth represents the number of years a newborn infant can expect to live at the levels or mortality prevailing at the time of birth. In most European countries life expectancy at birth is now between 72-73 years. In developing nations it averages about 51 years. In Mauritius following a gradual postwar increase life expectancy stands at 65 years. At a rate of 32.4/1000 Mauritius enjoys 1 of the lowest infant mortality rates in the developing world but it is still significantly high. A study of the available data for infant deaths in Mauritius shows that between 20-25% of these deaths occur within the 1st month of life. Within this 1st month of life the heaviest toll takes palce during the 1st week and the largest number of deaths in that 1st week occurs during the 1st day of life. Immaturity remains the principal cause of infant mortality in Mauritius accounting for approximately 25% of all infant deaths. Such a high incidence of low birth weight babies reflects the extent of malnutrition and severe anemia among pregnant women. The majority of these babies are born at term (and not prematurely) from small and undernourished mothers. If they manage to survive their first few months they are likely to be retarded in their physical and mental development. Growing evidence exists of a decline in the practice of breastfeeding in Mauritius both in the proportion of mothers who breastfeed and in the duration of breastfeeding by those who do. The reasons are varied and complex but include the increasing participation of mothers in the labor force the lack of awareness in modern societies of the value of breastfeeding the promotion of breast milk substitutes and the increasing fashion of bottle feeding as a status symbol. Breastfeeding continues to be the ideal type of feeding for infants and an encouragement to mothers to breastfeed their babies would significantly lower the mortality due to enteritic and diarrheal diseases the 2nd highest infant killer in Mauritius. Immunization and efforts to promote the maintenance of breastfeeding and countering the factors responsible for its decline would not by themselves markedly reduce infant mortality. A reduction of infant mortality can be realized only with a combination of medical intervention program linked to improved social and economic conditions.