Infants In Rural Areas Research Articles

Current Situation and Influencing Factors of Caregivers' Pressuring Feeding Style in Infants of 6-11 Months Old in Rural Areas of Sichuan Province

Objective To investigate the status and influencing factors of pressuring feeding style among caregivers in remote rural areas of Sichuan province. Methods Multistage sampling was conducted to select infants of 6-11 months old who had received complementary food and their caregivers in remote rural areas of Sichuan province.A questionnaire was used to collect sociodemographic characteristics of infants and their caregivers,pressuring feeding behaviors,feeding environment,and caregivers' negative emotions.Quantile regression was employed to analyze the factors influencing pressuring feeding among caregivers of infants. Results A total of 1358 pairs of infants and their caregivers were included,with the pressuring feeding behavior score of 11 (8,14).Parity was the protective factor for caregivers' pressuring feeding (β25=-1.17,P<0.001;β50=-1.40,P=0.002;β75=-2.18,P<0.001).Whether infants played with toys while eating (β25=1.00,P<0.001;β50=1.20,P=0.003;β75=1.42,P<0.001) and whether infants watched TV/mobile phones (β25=0.50,P=0.048;β50=1.07,P=0.004) were the risk factors.At the 75th percentile,caregivers' negative emotions were the risk factor for pressuring feeding (β75=0.94,P=0.015).Caregivers' education background (β25=0.83,P=0.034;β50=0.87,P=0.021) and family income (β75=1.09,P=0.012) were also significantly associated with pressuring feeding scores at different quartile points. Conclusion Pressuring feeding behaviors of caregivers in remote rural areas of Sichuan province need to be improved.Based on the characteristics of infants and their families,guidance should be carried out to improve the feeding environment and the mental health of caregivers,thereby promoting reasonable feeding behaviors among caregivers of infants in rural areas.

Vision on wheels: Technician-assisted retinopathy of prematurity screening in rural Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh: 2018-2021 Project Report.

To analyze the incidence of sight-threatening retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) in premature infants in rural Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh from 2018 to 2021, and to analyze its association with birthweight (BW), gestational age (GA), and postconceptional age (PCA). Project Vision on Wheels is a free ROP screening and treatment program initiated by a tertiary eye care center in South India in June 2018 to screen preterm infants in rural areas in 11 centers in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh by trained technicians. Infants with sight-threatening ROP were immediately shifted for vision-preserving laser. Of the 18,117 infants screened from 2018 to 2021, 1046 infants underwent laser, with the majority being bigger and more mature when compared to Western data. There was a yearly increase in the number of infants with sight-threatening ROP in the lower BW, GA, and PCA categories. The timely detection of the condition by committed screening led to salvage of vision by timely laser in 100% of the treated babies in all the years. The incidence of sight-threatening ROP had a yearly decrease in higher BW, GA, and PCA categories. These trends were statistically significant ( P = 0.001 for ROP and BW, P = 0.037 for ROP and GA, and P = 0.001 for ROP and PCA). The statistically significant trend of decreasing sight-threatening ROP in babies with higher BW, GA, and PCA and increasing treatable ROP in younger and smaller babies (with lower BWs, GAs, and PCAs) in rural India, over time, is a hitherto unreported finding. This is the first such study in rural Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh combined, with the largest data to date (as per MEDLINE search) to document this healthier trend.

Pattern of Breastfeeding amongst Mothers and its Physiological Effects on Infants in Rural Areas, South-South, Nigeria

Breast milk is a natural liquid’s food given to babies who are between one-day old to about 2 years old depending on mothers and locations. The aim of this study is to investigate Pattern of Breastfeeding amongst Mothers and its Physiological Effects on Infants in Rural Areas of Rivers State. This is a cross-sectional study involving 111 lactating mothers who are within the age of 18 to 42 years. A well-structured questionnaire was administered to participants. Each participant had one questionnaire to fill appropriately and independently after instructions were given to them by the researchers. The study lasted for a period of 9 weeks. The study revealed that 17(15.30%) had primary education, 64(57.70%) had secondary education while 30(27.00%) had tertiary education. Occupational distribution of respondents shows that 10(9.00%) were civil servants, 61(55.00%) business class while 40(36.00%) were farmers. The results also, shows that 98(88.30%) were nursing mothers while 13(11.70%) were not. The results of breastfeeding pattern of respondents show that 11(9.90%) used breast milk alone, 32(28.80%) breast milk +water, 2(1.80%) breast milk + pap, 31(27.90%) breast milk +NAN or others in this category +30(27.00%) breast milk + solid food while 5(4.50%) employed pap alone. The level of awareness of the respondents about exclusive breastfeeding revealed that 78(70.30%) said YES while 33(29.70%) said NO, that they do not know about exclusive breastfeeding. 90(81.1%) of the respondents do not carry out exclusive breastfeeding and 21(18.9%) carried out exclusive breastfeeding. The duration for breastfeeding among mothers are 5.4% (6 months), 13.5% (5 m0nths), 37.8% (3 months), 43.2% (none). Scholars Middle East Publishers

Implications of exclusive breastfeeding and complementary feeding practices on gastrointestinal health and antibiotic exposure: A questionnaire-based assessment

BackgroundInfancy is a very crucial phase of comprehensive development. Optimum nutrition has the potential to boost immunity and decrease disease susceptibility. Our hypothesis is that exclusive breastfeeding and homebased complementary feeding improves gastrointestinal health and reduces antibiotic exposure in infants, in comparison to partial breast feeding and mixed complementary feeding. Very few studies have explored this topic in a rural Indian setting. MethodsA prospective cohort study was conducted with a sample size of 200 mothers of 6–12 months old healthy infants in rural areas of Karnataka, India. Data collection was done by in-depth interview exclusivity of Breast Feeding (Exclusive-EBF, Formula-FF and Partial -PBF), type of Complementary Feeding (Homebased-HCF, Commercial-CCF, Mixed-MCF) followed, episodes of vomiting, diarrhoea and antibiotic exposure. Pearson's chi-square tests were performed using SPSS version 16 for statistical analysis. ResultsEBF was observed in 50.5% (101) of infants, PBF in 49% (98) and FF in 0.5% (1). On EBF for 6 months, 3% (3) of infants had vomiting and 1% (1) had diarrhoea, whereas on PBF, 5.2% (5) and 3% (3) (p > 0.05) of infants had vomiting and diarrhoea, respectively. None of the infants on HCF suffered from diarrhoea or vomiting. While 5.4% (9) and 2.4% (4) of infants on MCF had vomiting and diarrhoea respectively (p > 0.05). Antibiotic exposure was reported in 30.3% (10) of HCF and 54.8% (90) of MCF infants (p > 0.05) respectively. ConclusionA population-level awareness regarding EBF and HCF could lead to decreased incidences of gastrointestinal infections.

Household Factors of Foodborne Diarrhea in Children under Five in Two Districts of Maputo, Mozambique.

Household factors involved in the disease of diarrhea are multifaceted. This study aimed to explore and describe the household factors affecting foodborne diarrhea in children younger than 5 years old using structured questionnaire data based on quantitative tools. The sample size was calculated based on a binomial distribution. A total of 300 children, together with their caregivers, participated, and the data were descriptively and mathematically analyzed using Epi Info modelling. The caregivers were mostly female and included 93.3% rural and 84% urban dwellers of ages between 18 and 38, who were single but living with someone. Of the children who were under six months of age, 23.3% in rural areas and 16.6% in urban areas had diarrhea, while of the children between 12 and 23 months of age, 36.6% in urban areas and 30% in rural areas had diarrhea. The relatives had similar symptoms before the child became ill, with 12.6% of relatives in rural areas and 13.3% in urban areas reporting this. Before receiving medical assistance, 51.3% of children in rural areas and 16% of children in urban areas were treated with traditional medication. Water was not treated before drinking in 48% of rural cases and 45.3% of urban cases. A total of 24.6% of infants in urban areas and 12.6% of infants in rural areas used a bottle for feeding. The factors affecting foodborne diarrhea were the use of traditional medication in rural areas, bottle feeding in urban areas and untreated water used for drinking in both areas.

Impact of Self Help Group membership on the adoption of child nutritional practices: Evidence from JEEViKA's health and nutrition strategy programme in Bihar, India

AbstractSelf‐help groups (SHGs) are used as instruments for changes in health‐related behaviour. We evaluated the impact of the Health and Nutrition Strategy of JEEViKA on the dietary practices of infants in rural areas of Bihar. Propensity score matching revealed that the probability of exclusive breastfeeding until 6 months and starting complementary feeding after 6 months was higher by 5% and 3%, respectively, if the respondent was an SHG member. The average treatment effects on treated using attendance in meetings as the treatment variable found that the programme had increased breastfeeding only, with there being peer effects also. The study recommends encouraging attendance in SHG meetings.

Prevalence and Prevention of Diarrhoea among Infants in Rural Areas of Ekiti State, Nigeria

In Nigeria, diarrhoea has emerged as one of the common causes of gastroenteritis in children and adultpopulation. Generally speaking, it is a condition in which three or more liquid or loose bowel movement perday happen. Basically, prevalence of diarrhoea as a disease is highly caused due to poor sewerage disposal,hygiene conditions and contaminated water at the household level. This study sought to investigate theprevalence and prevention of diarrhoea among infants in Ekiti State, Nigeria. The survey research designwas used to accomplish this study. Among the rural population of the area, a sample of one hundred (N=100)mothers were selected randomly to gather information for the study. The primary data was collected by usingthe questionnaire and secondary data was collected from textbooks, research journals/articles published onthe subject in the past. The findings shown, that the potential causes and prevention mechanisms of diarrhoeaamong children (less than 5 years) in the study area are not known to most of the nursing mothers. Therefore,it is imperative to engage community and women in particular aimed to ensure the success of educationalinterventions.

Sociodemographic, biological and cultural factors affecting morbidities among infants: A longitudinal study in rural Karnataka

BackgroundMorbidities during infancy have a deadly effect on growth and development among infants. Globally, more than 0.5 million newborns die a year due to morbidities. In India, fifty percent of them are underweight. ObjectivesTo study morbidities during first year of life and to assess socio-demographic, biological and cultural factors influencing morbidity during first year of life. MethodologyThis Longitudinal study was carried out in rural community of Kinaye, Vantamuri and Handignur PHC. Study population constituted of Babies born during May 2013–March 2014. Sample size was calculated and 962 infants were enrolled by using random number tables. Data was obtained from mothers using semi structured pretested questionnaire. The baseline data was collected within first week of the birth and were followed up monthly till the child completes 1 year. Descriptive statistics and inferential statistics were used for analysis. ResultsThe incidence of morbidities during first year of life was 14.18 episodes per child-year. The incidence of Acute respiratory infections, Diarrhea and Fever during twelfth month was 0.31/infant-year, 0.25/infant-year and 0.22/infant-year. The socio demographic factors associated with Morbidities were non working (AOR: 1.320) illiteracy (AOR: 1.964) among mothers from low socio economic status (AOR: 1.651), Biological factors associated were low Gestational age (AOR: 2.594), No ANC registration (AOR: 3.047) and Low birth weight (AOR: 1.771). Cultural factors associated were Delayed initiation of breast feeding (AOR: 2.284) and Delayed bathing (AOR: 1.383). ConclusionImproving female literacy and employment plays a major role in alleviating the morbidity among infants in rural areas.

Knowledge of antenatal care among mothers of infants in rural area of Belagavi: a cross sectional study

Background: Antenatal care (ANC) is the care given to pregnant women for safe pregnancy and healthy babies. It is the most effective health intervention for preventing maternal morbidity and mortality. Health knowledge is an important element which enables women to be aware of their health status and promotes service utilization which further improves the health of the beneficiaries. This study was conducted among mothers of rural area of Belagavi with an objective to determine the level of knowledge related to ANC and the factors associated with the same.Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out in February-April 2018 among mothers who had delivered within one year from date of study and who had registered and availed antenatal services in field practice area of Department of Community Medicine, BIMS, Belagavi. Sample size was calculated as 161. Mothers were selected using systematic sampling. Data was collected after obtaining an informed, written consent from the participants and was compiled, tabulated and analysed in MS Excel. The results are presented as percentage and proportions and chi square test has been applied.Results: 50% participants had fair knowledge regarding ANC. The level of knowledge was found to be statistically significant with employment status and BPL status.Conclusions: The study found adequate knowledge among majority of mothers.

When Disaster Strikes in Rural America-Call the Midwife!

Midwives can play a critical role in emergency preparedness and response. Rural areas have unique disaster preparedness needs but receive less attention than urban centers. Childbearing women and infants are particularly affected during disasters. Midwives are well positioned to coordinate disaster preparedness training and response to optimize the health of women and infants in rural areas.

Odds of Receiving Vaccines, but Not Vitamin A, Increased over Time in Urban and Rural Ethiopia, 2000–2016: A Secondary Data Analysis of DHS Data (P04-095-19)

ObjectivesChildhood vaccines and biannual vitamin A delivery by health systems are key to child health; suboptimal administration may be a result of inadequate coverage or access to health systems. There have been national programs set in Ethiopia, such as the health sector development program, to improve child health. Therefore, we sought to describe trends in infant vaccines and vitamin A in urban and rural settings in Ethiopia. We hypothesized there would be an increase over time in infants (1) receiving all basic vaccines and (2) vitamin A in the past 6 months. We also hypothesized (3) coverage would be higher in urban settings. MethodsWe used four nationally representative Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) from Ethiopia between 2000 and 2016. The analysis comprised 11,621 infants 6–23 months old. Logistic regression models using a forward-stepwise approach were created to test these 3 hypotheses, controlling for wealth, age, sex of infant, and mother’s highest education level. Interaction terms were fitted between survey year and education level, setting and education level, and setting and wealth index quintile, and tested using the Wald test. Results(1) The percentage of infants having received all basic vaccines increased from 11.1% in 2000 to 31.0% in 2016; the odds of having received these vaccines increased over time also. (2) This is not true for vitamin A, where there was no pattern in the odds of having received vitamin A between survey years. (3) Rural infants were 40% less likely to have received all basic vaccines, compared to urban infants (adjusted odds ratio (AOR): 0.60; 95% CI: 0.43, 0.83), and there was no evidence of an association between setting and receiving vitamin A (AOR: 0.81; 95% CI: 0.61, 1.09). There was strong evidence for interaction between setting and mother’s highest education level, setting and wealth index quintile, and survey year and education level (all P < 0.01). ConclusionsThese results suggest that (1) while there has been improvement in infants receiving basic vaccines, (2) progress may be slowing slightly in vitamin A coverage and (3)there is a need to improve coverage of basic vaccines for infants in rural areas. Strengthening of and improved access to health services should remain a priority to ensure proper distribution of vaccines and vitamin A in Ethiopia. Funding SourcesN/A. Supporting Tables, Images and/or Graphs▪▪▪

Exposure to arsenic through breast milk from mothers exposed to high levels of arsenic in drinking water: Infant risk assessment

Abstrac Heavy metal toxicity is related with a number of diseases, but the problem increases many-fold when toxic metals are found in breast milk, the basic food item in a vulnerable age group. Twenty milk samples from lactating women were collected from rural areas of arsenic-affected districts of Kaboodrahang city, Iran. Arsenic levels in drinking water were also analyzed. As controls, 20 breast milk samples and 8 drinking water samples were also collected from two villages southwest of Kaboodrahang city, where no groundwater arsenic contamination has been reported. Mean (±SD) arsenic concentration was 10.75 (±7.62) μg/L in study samples and 7.73 (±4.01) μg/L in control samples. Unacceptable non-carcinogenic health risk levels or hazard quotients for arsenic were found in 55% of breastfed infants in the contaminated areas and 41% of breastfed infants in the non-contaminated area. The results showed that the levels of arsenic in both contaminated and non-contaminated areas were high. This suggest that arsenic probably enters the mother's milk from other sources such as food crops in the study area. Our results indicate a potential risk of arsenic toxicity in infants in rural areas in Kaboodrahang city via the consumption of mothers' breast milk.

Cadmium in Groundwater Consumed in the Rural Areas of Gonabad and Bajestan, Iran: Occurrence and Health Risk Assessment.

Evidences show that high levels of cadmium intake may be contributing to a wide range of deleterious health effects. This study was performed to estimate the concentration of cadmium and the health risk to human by cadmium through the ingestion of groundwater in 39 rural areas of Gonabad and Bajestan, eastern Iran. The mean cadmium concentrations in groundwater in the studied rural areas of Gonabad and Bajestan ranged from 0.087 to 14.32μg/L and from 0.417 to 18.36μg/L, respectively. Health risk quotient for cadmium contamination for 16 and 38% of children and infants in rural areas of Gonabad and Bajestan, respectively, was more than 1 which causes non-carcinogenic risk to the local population. The carcinogenic risk of cadmium in drinking water for adults, children, and infants in 16, 33, and 33% of studied rural areas of Gonabad and Bajestan, respectively, was higher than the safe limit of 1.0 × 10-4. For rural areas of Bajestan, the cancer risk in 42, 52, and 52% of adults, children, and infants was above the safe limit. It was strongly suggested that the accessible procedures of treatment should be taken for a portion of contaminated rural areas before the distribution of the groundwater for the local population.

Ownership of mobile phones and willingness to receive childhood immunisation reminder messages among caregivers of infants in Ondo State, south-western Nigeria

Background. The timely completion of the childhood immunisation schedule for children under the age of 1 year by caregivers is key to reducing the high morbidity and mortality of vaccine-preventable diseases among infants globally. Objective. To determine the ownership of mobile phones among caregivers of children under the age of 1 year, their knowledge about immunisation service delivery and willingness to receive childhood immunisation schedule reminder messages in Ondo State, south-western Nigeria. Method. A descriptive cross-sectional study using semi-structured interviewer-administered questionnaires was conducted with 615 caregivers of infants, who brought their children to clinics conducting immunisation in 24 health facilities in rural, semi-urban and urban settlements in Ondo State in December 2014. Results. The mean (standard deviation, SD) age of respondents was 28.49 (6.01) years, 76.7% were Yoruba, 91.4% were married and living with their spouses and 4.2% were single. Mobile phone ownership was 74.5% among rural-based respondents, and 95.8% among urban-based. Forty-six percent of the respondents had good knowledge of immunisation, vaccine-preventable diseases and vaccination schedules, while 27.5% had poor knowledge. The majority of the respondents (99.7%) were willing to receive childhood immunisation reminder messages on their mobile phones. About 50% of the respondents preferred to receive reminder messages at any time, rather than specific times. The most preferred language for reminders was English (54.5%). Residing in an urban area and having post-secondary education were predictors of mobile phone ownership. Conclusion. The high mobile phone ownership level, and the willingness of caregivers of infants in this study area to receive immunisation schedule reminder messages, is encouraging, and should be optimised to improve routine immunisation uptake. However, caregivers of infants in rural areas need to be provided with mobile phone support, and trained in their usage in order to benefit from such an intervention in childhood immunisation.

Infant feeding in the rural area of Chuvash Republic and Nizhny Novgorod Region

The nature of feeding in the first year of life affects the health of the child in all subsequent periods of life. Objective - the article is devoted to the study of the state of feeding the children of the first year of life living in rural areas. The study was carried out on the basis of three children's clinics in the Chuvash Republic and the Nizhny Novgorod region by random sampling using an anonymous questionnaire of women who had children aged 1 to 2 years living in the rural areas of the Chuvash Republic and the Nizhny Novgorod Region (140 and 60 women, respectively). According to our data, the absolute majority of women surveyed (96%) wished to feed their babies for at least 1 year. All infants (100%) after birth were attached to the chest, in the first 30 minutes - 62%, in later terms - 38%. Feeding the artificial formulas before the first application to the breast was used in nutrition of 26% of newborns. Exclusive breastfeeding for less than 4 months received 23% of babies, 4-6 months - 69%, 7 months - 8% of babies. The main reason for transferring infants to mixed and artificial feeding was hypogalactia. At the age of up to 6 months for mixed feeding 49% of babies were transferred, for artificial feeding - 16%. In most cases (69%), when signs of hypogalactia appeared no weighting was carried out, an independent transfer of the child to another type of feeding was observed in the same majority (65%) of cases. The choice of the mixture was carried out by the parents independently in 65% of cases, in other cases - on the recommendation of the pediatrician. In general, in most cases (66%), adapted mixtures were used in feeding the infants, cow milk (22%), goat milk (6%), and sour milk drinks (6%) were used from unadapted products. Before the age of 3 months 5% of babies completed breastfeeding, in the age of 4-6 months - 11%, 7-9 months - 16%, 10-12 months - 5%, more than 6 months continued to be fed with breast milk 84% of babies, more than a year - 63%. The average duration of breastfeeding was 13.8±4.2 months. Half (48%) of children received vegetable puree as the first supplement, in the remaining children porridge (24%), fruit puree (20%), cottage cheese (8%) served as such. Conclusion: breastfeeding of infants in rural areas needs active support from pediatric staff.

Non-carcinogenic risk assessment to human health due to intake of fluoride in the groundwater in rural areas of Gonabad and Bajestan, Iran: A case study

ABSTRACTIn this study, a field research regarding groundwater contamination with fluoride and its related health risks to human health was carried out in 39 rural areas of Gonabad and Bajestan, Iran, in 2017. The results indicated that fluoride levels in two rural areas exceeded the WHO guideline. A total of 55% and 4.7% of the studied rural areas in Gonabad and Bajestan, respectively, had fluoride levels below the minimum recommended value of WHO for fluoride (0.5 mg/L). In this article, chronic non-cancer risks to three different groups of people, adults, children, and infants, for exposure to the fluoride were assessed. Health risk index values for fluoride contamination for 44% and 90% of children and infants in rural areas of Gonabad and Bajestan, respectively, were more than unity (>1), which clearly reveals that these age groups at the studied areas are at the chronic health risk due to the intake of fluoride-containing water. The order of fluoride contribution to non-carcinogenic health risk among the studied age groups was infants > children > adults. Therefore, from a public health viewpoint, it would be prudent and important that risk reduction measures be implemented to diminish the total body burden of fluoride in residents.

Effects of recruiting midwives into family physician program on the percentage of low birth weight (LBW) infants in rural areas of Kurdistan.

Background: LBW is an important factor that can affect infant mortality and represents an index of economic and social development. It is expected that an increase in the density of midwives attending family physician programs will lead to a decrease in LBW in health centers. This study aimed to compare the percentage of LBW infants before and after the implementation of the family physician program in health centers with and without an increase in midwives density. Methods: This cross-sectional study compared the percentage of LBW infants before and after the implementation of family physician programs in rural health centers with and without changes in midwives density in Kurdistan. In this study, we included 668 mothers of 2-month-old children and administered structured interviews in 2005 and 2013. Data were analyzed using the difference-indifferences and the Matchit statistical models. Results: The Matchit model showed a significant average percentage increase 0.08 (0.006–0.17) in LBW infants born between 2005 and 2013 in health centers where the density of midwives increased compared with those where it remained unchanged. The difference-in-differences model showed that the odds ratio of LBW infants is increased by more than twice among participants who had a history of caesarean section. Conclusion: The results of this study showed that an increase in the density of midwives in a family physician program did not have an impact on reducing the percentage of LBW infants born between 2005 and 2013, in health centers where the density of midwives augmented compared to those where it remained unaltered; it indicated that the increase in the density of midwives alone was not efficient. On the other hand, the results of our study show an increase in the risk of infants born at a LBW due to caesarean section. It is recommended that obstetricians and gynecologists must strictly control pregnancies and avoid unnecessary termination of pregnancy

Impact of Female Literacy and Maternal Nutrition on Birth Weight of Infant in Rural Areas of Uttar Pradesh

Impact of Female Literacy and Maternal Nutrition on Birth Weight of Infant in Rural Areas of Uttar Pradesh

Study of the relevant factors of behavioral development among 30-month-old infants in rural area of Shaanxi Province

Objective: To explore the relevant factors of behavioral development among 30-month-old infants in rural area, Shaanxi Province. Methods: The behavioral development among 977 infants aged 30-month-old was evaluated in Changwu and Binxian of Shaanxi province from July 2006 to August 2008. The inclusion criteria included single live birth between January 2004 and February 2006, mother had participated in a community-based intervention study named "Impact of multi-micronutrient supplementation during pregnancy on low birth weight and premature delivery" . Infants who had obvious deformity or other birth defects, infants who could not complete the questionnaire survey, physical examination were excluded from the study. The self-designed questionnaire was used to investigate the information of feeding patterns, disease status, physical development, and immunization status of the infants, and their behavioral development were assessed by Bayley scales of infant development (BSID). General Linear Model was used to adjust the possible confounding factors, and the analysis of variance was performed to explore the effects on the behavioral development among infants aged 30-month-old. Results: Among the infants in the study, the average age was (30.6±0.6) months old, the mean birth weight was (3 199.1±405.9)g. After adjusted the mothers' age of delivery, educational level and occupation of the parents, family ecnomic conditions and the number of children, infants whose mother exposed to toxic chemicals during pregnancy had lower score in activity (-0.179±0.961) and lower score in concentration (-0.177±1.099) compared with infants with unexposed mother (0.058±1.006, P=0.001; 0.057±0.960, P=0.003). Similarly, infants whose mother took drugs during pregnancy had lower score in persistent behaviors (-0.070±1.000) compared with infants whose mother did not(0.085±1.006, P=0.017). Compared with normal birth infants(0.043±0.981, P=0.007; 0.021±0.984, P=0.034), infants less than gestational age and low birth weight had lower score in concentration(-0.198±1.063 and-0.389±1.285, respectively). After adjusted the delivery gestational age of mothers, the months of infants, the mothers' age of delivery, educational level and occupation of the parents, family ecnomic conditions, the number of children, and the main orderlies of infants, the score of activity of infants suffered from diseases in early month age was-0.049±0.992, which was lower than those who did not(0.207±1.011, P=0.001). The infants with Rickets signs had lower score in motor coordination (-0.218±0.896) than normal infants (0.031±1.011, P=0.013). Infants whose mother with adequate micronutrient supplementation in pregnancy had higher score in concentration (0.066±0.966) than those whose mother with insufficient supplementation (-0.062±1.027, P=0.043). Furthermore, infants with fine protein added and minerals and vitamins added had higher score in activity and concentration compared with those insufficient, who scored 0.078±1.013 and 0.496±0.872 (-0.254±0.924, P<0.001; 0.001±0.997, P=0.033), respectively. Conclusion: Micronutrient supplementation during pregnancy and reasonable nutrition added during childhood could affect behavioral development among infants.

Social determinants of morbidity during infancy: Results from a cross-sectional study in rural areas of Assam, India

Background: Assam, one of the seven North Eastern states of India has achieved the highest decline in maternal and child mortality compared to other states, still neonatal mortality and infant mortality rates are very high. Apart from other causes, certain social factors unique to Indian subcontinent are also responsible for high mortality and morbidity among children here. Objectives: To know the prevailing morbidity conditions among the infants and to assess the social determinants of morbidity of infants in rural areas of Assam. Materials and Methods: It was a cross-sectional study conducted among 250 rural families having an infant in each family. The primary caregiver was interviewed using pre-tested semi-structured interview schedules and investigators also clinically evaluate the index child for any morbidity. Data collected regarding various sociodemographic variables of the family, morbidity status of the infant and also the environmental variables relevant to the study were analyzed tabulated and percentages, and proportions were calculated. Chi-square test was done to see the relationship between the factors. Results: The study observed that prevalence of teenage mothers was high (32.4%). Most of the mothers were primipara (41.2%), and were belonging to nuclear families of lower socioeconomic strata (57%). In our study, acute respiratory infections (33.3%), fever (24.6%), and diarrhea (21.7%) were found to be the most common morbidities among infants. Statistically significant association was also found between morbidity of infants and male gender (p=0.003) and numbers of siblings (p=0.005), use of sanitary water source (p=0.001), and excreta disposal (p=0.001). Conclusion: This study observed that social factors which influence infant morbidity included male gender and numbers of siblings, use of sanitary water source and excreta disposal, less education of mothers, less family income, and lower social class of the family.