Low Infant Mortality Research Articles

A Close-up Examination of Racial Disparities in Infant and Maternal Outcomes in Montgomery County, Ohio

Background: Infant and maternal outcomes in Montgomery County, Ohio, are among the worst in the state and rival that of many low-income nations. This study compares maternal and infant outcomes across 3 zip codes in Montgomery County to discern factors that are influencing health outcomes for their residents. The zip codes represent 3 distinct communities with unique racial and socioeconomic makeups. Methods: A cohort of mother-infant dyads (n=5098) who delivered at Miami Valley Hospital and Good Samaritan Hospital from January 1, 2009, to January 1, 2019, was analyzed via retrospective chart review. Maternal health outcome composite score (MCS) and infant health outcome composite score (ICS) from Trotwood, Ohio, (zip code 45426) were compared to those of 2 nearby zip codes (45415 and 45424), which were chosen for their lower infant mortality rates and proximity to Trotwood. Continuous variables were compared by ANOVA followed by post hoc Tukey tests. Categorical variables were compared via chi-square analysis. Results: The MCS and ICS were stratified by zip code and maternal age, race, and BMI. There was a statistically significant difference in MCS for race and BMI across all zip codes, but no statistically significant difference for maternal age. There was no statistically significant difference in ICS across maternal age, race, and BMI. Conclusion: Maternal outcomes for Black women were consistently worse across communities while outcomes for other races varied. Our study shows that maternal outcomes did not correlate with infant outcomes, indicating that interventions focusing on improving maternal outcomes may be inadequate at addressing infant outcomes. Investigations surrounding race-specific interventions in all populations are needed.

All-Cause Mortality in Reproductive-Aged Females by State: An Analysis of the Effects of Abortion Legislation

ABSTRACT It is estimated that the Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v Jackson Women's Health Organization will leave approximately 33 million US women in states without available abortion services. Even before this decision, there was wide variation in abortion access across the United States. In 2019, 43% of reproductive-age women lived in states with policies overall restrictive to abortion because of the 26 abortion bans that had been enacted, with many more introduced. In contrast, other states have passed laws supportive of and protective of abortion. Many laws restricting abortion were supposedly aimed at protecting women's health by regulating abortion facilities as ambulatory surgery centers, dictating the types of health care providers who can perform abortion, and requiring admitting privileges to hospitals for clinicians providing abortion care. Opponents of these regulations assert that they are designed to restrict access without evidence that they decrease risks associated with abortion. These laws purporting to protect women with safer abortions have actually done the opposite; restricted abortion access results in increased pregnancy-related deaths. The focus of abortion regulations and restrictions is also aimed at protecting the fetus (and subsequent neonate), but prior studies have demonstrated an association between restricted access to abortion and increased infant mortality. Moreover, prior studies demonstrated that abortion restrictions increase maternal and infant mortality. The aim of this retrospective cohort study was to evaluate the association between state-level abortion legislation and all-cause mortality among females of reproductive age and maternal, fetal, and infant mortality. This study compared mortality rates in states categorized as supportive, moderate, and restrictive with regard to their laws. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's WONDER (Wide-ranging ONline Data for Epidemiologic Research) database was used. The association between supportive, moderate, and restrictive state abortion regulations and all-cause mortality in reproductive-age females was estimated using generalized estimating equations. The primary study outcome was all-cause mortality in reproductive-age females (aged 15–49 years). Issues examined included specific, common legal restrictions placed on abortion, including in-person counseling, restrictions on insurance coverage, waiting periods, requiring inaccurate or misleading counseling to pregnant women (such as information on medical abortion reversal or fetal personhood), prohibiting telemedicine for medication abortion, and requiring parental consent for minors. Secondary outcomes included maternal mortality, fetal mortality, and infant mortality. All-cause mortality in reproductive-age females was defined as death at a reported age of 15 to 49 years. Compared with restrictive states, moderate and supportive states were not associated with a significant decrease in all-cause mortality, and maternal mortality (per 100,000 live births) was significantly lower in moderate (25.79; 95% confidence interval [CI], 29.88–21.70), but not supportive states (22.51; 95% CI, 26.75–1.72). In both moderate (20.56; 95% CI, 21.09–20.04) and supportive (21.10; 95% CI, 21.56–20.64) states, infant mortality (per 1000 live births) was significantly lower. In moderate states, fetal mortality was significantly lower (20.69; 95% CI, 21.18–20.20) but not in supportive states (20.64; 95% CI, 21.14–0.13). With each additional abortion regulation, there was an increase in both maternal mortality (1.09; 95% CI, 0.36–1.82) and infant mortality (0.20; 95% CI, 0.12–0.26). These findings show that compared with restrictive laws, moderate state abortion legislation is associated with lower rates of maternal, fetal, and infant mortality but not lower all-cause mortality in reproductive-age females. Restrictive laws enacted with the purported intent of protecting women's health and fetal health by regulating abortion fail to do so and do not decrease all-cause mortality in reproductive-age women or maternal mortality. Repealing certain types of laws may decrease all-cause mortality in reproductive-age females, maternal mortality, and infant mortality. Allowing an abortion at any gestational age does not substantially increase fetal death rates compared with states that restricted termination after a certain gestational age.

The Effect of Socioeconomic Factors on Maternal Perinatal Depressive Symptoms and the Contribution of Group Prenatal Support as a Preventive Measure.

The European and Greek financial turmoil that began in 2007 has had adverse health consequences. Stillbirth, low birth weight, infant mortality, and maternal suicide have all increased. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether socioeconomic factors contribute to postpartum blues, and whether psychoprophylaxis with group prenatal education and support may have a beneficial effect. The sample study comprised 414 pregnant women equally divided into psychoprophylaxis or standard care. There were six psychoprophylaxis sessions, with two each week lasting 2 hours each in groups of five people at the urban health center of Larissa, Greece. A questionnaire was used for data collection, including (1) closed-type questions about sociodemographic characteristics, and medical and obstetric history; (2) the Hamilton Depression Scale; (3) a Blues Questionnaire; (4) the Holmes and Rahe stressful life events scale; and (5) a scale of effects of the economic crisis. Differences between the two groups and within the groups at different time points were assessed by two-way repeated measures ANOVA tests. Maternity blues scores, depression scores at all time points, life stress event score, and financial difficulty score were all significantly related to each other in both groups at all time points (p < 0.01). The correlation between financial difficulties and depression/maternity blues disappeared after delivery in the intervention group. Financial difficulties, depression, and psychoprophylaxis sessions emerged as independent prognostic factors of maternity blues score, the group variable being most significantly associated with maternal blues. Although financial status as well as depression continued to play a role, the deterrent contribution of psychoprophylaxis was the most important parameter in the final maternity blues prognostic model. The results of our study show a potential for prevention and suggest interesting hypotheses for future interventions.

Impact of Migration on the Utilization of Antenatal Care Services among Women of Urban Slums in Bangladesh

Mothers living in urban slums in Bangladesh get far less access to maternal and child health care services which may lead to mortality or serious morbidity to mothers as well as newborns. Lack of antennal care (ANC) is closely linked to poor pregnancy outcomes including low birth weight, preterm births or infant mortality. However, exposure to migration makes the situation worse in terms of attending urban community health care facilities among women in slums. Since the effect of migration on the usage of antenatal care services in slums has remained an under studied area, this paper aims to examine the adjusted effect of migration on perceiving adequate ANC. Data from the second round of Bangladesh Urban Health Survey conducted in 2013 have been used for this study. A well fitted binary logistic model resulted in lower odds of receiving complete ANC among recently migrated women in slums (AOR=0.602, 95% CI=0.43-0.85). Therefore, further emphasis should be given to increase awareness about antenatal care services among women who are recently migrated to urban slums in Bangladesh. Dhaka Univ. J. Sci. 70(2): 8-14, 2022 (July)

All-Cause Mortality in Reproductive-Aged Females by State: An Analysis of the Effects of Abortion Legislation.

To estimate the association between state-level abortion legislation and all-cause mortality among all females of reproductive age and maternal, fetal, and infant mortality. We conducted a retrospective cohort study using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's WONDER (Wide-ranging ONline Data for Epidemiologic Research) database. Generalized estimating equations were used to estimate the association between supportive, moderate, and restrictive state abortion regulations and all-cause mortality in reproductive-aged females. Secondary outcomes included maternal, fetal, and infant mortality. The association of the number and type of laws on mortality were estimated. Moderate and supportive states were not associated with a significant decrease in all-cause mortality compared with restrictive states. Maternal mortality (per 100,000 live births) was significantly lower in moderate (-5.79, 95% CI -9.88 to -1.70) compared with restrictive states, but not supportive states (-2.51, 95% CI -6.75 to 1.72). Infant mortality (per 1,000 live births) was significantly lower in both moderate (-0.56, 95% CI -1.09 to -0.04) and supportive (-1.10, 95% CI -1.56 to -0.64) states. Fetal mortality was lower in moderate states (-0.69, 95% CI -1.18 to -0.20) but not in supportive states (-0.64, 95% CI -1.14 to 0.13). Each additional abortion regulation was associated with an increase in maternal mortality (1.09/100,000 live births, 95% CI 0.36-1.82) and infant mortality (0.20/1,000 live births, 95% CI 0.12-0.26). Moderate state abortion legislation was associated with lower rates of maternal, fetal, and infant mortality but not lower all-cause mortality in reproductive-aged females compared with restrictive laws. An increasing number of laws restricting abortion was associated with increased maternal and infant mortality.

The Relationship between Family Policy and Children’s Quality of Life among OECD Countries: Fuzzy-Set Qualitative Comparative Analysis

This study aims to clarify the relationship between family policy and children’s quality of life through an international comparison and to determine which family policy factors contribute to children’s quality of life. The research question is “How can family policies be combined to improve children’s quality of life in terms of health and economy?” It includes nine categories of family policies related to money, service, and leave. Measures of children’s quality of life include low birth weight, infant mortality, and child poverty. Using the OECD Family Database, and the OECD Child Well-being Data, fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparison Analysis (fsQCA) was used among 20 OECD countries. Combinations of family policies significant to the children’s quality of life were derived from the results. This study contributes to the literature by revealing the effectiveness of states’ investment in family policy. In addition, the study indicates that since family policies interact with each other, those policies combine to improve children's quality of life.

ПАЛЕОДЕМОГРАФИЧЕСКИЙ АНАЛИЗ НЕКРОПОЛЯ В СЕЛЕ ИСУПОВО КОСТРОМСКОЙ ОБЛАСТИ

Skeletal material from the village of Isupovo was found during the excavations of the village cemetery. The formation of this necropolis began in the 17th century and continued for two centuries. Our work is devoted to the paleodemographic study of the population of the village of Isupovo in the 17th–18th centuries, according to sex and age determination of the skeletal material. As a result of our studies, we could draw the following conclusion. The demographic situation in the village of Isupovo in the 17th–18th centuries can be considered quite prosperous, as evidenced by a the high average life expectancy, a relatively low infant mortality rate, a significant representativeness of the older age cohort, and low mortality rate at younger ages.

A Review on Umbilical Cord Milking and Its Implications in Neonatal Health.

In India, there is an extreme lack of advancement in techniques concerning the care of infants during labor and post-pregnancy, i.e., the postnatal period. India projected an Infant Mortality Rate of 28.771deaths per 1000 live births for the year 2021.Such a high death rate in infants arises a dire need to discover and launch new techniques and increase the application of the existing lesser-known techniques. One less well-known technique is the milking of the infant's umbilical cord. Transfusion of placental blood has recently been considered definitive in the care of newborns with the boon to the infant of declined death rate in preterm neonatesand the enhanced consequences of growth in term infants. The chief goal of this descriptive review article is to examine all the studies relating to umbilical cord milking (UCM) in late-preterm and term infants and to evaluate every achievable outcome and restriction of a given process in clinical application, mainly when compared to rapid and late umbilical cord clamping. Application of milking of the umbilical cord can be seen to improve the health of hypoxic neonates, weight parameters, blood volume, hematocrit, hemoglobin, iron levels in the blood, red blood cell count, blood pressure, right ventricular output, left ventricular functions, cerebral oxygenation, urine output regulation, cognitive abilities, antioxidant levels, better outcomes in the resuscitation of infant and above all helps in lowering Infant Mortality Rates.

Acceptability of the Kangaroo Mother Care at the University Hospital of Treichville in Côte d'Ivoire.

Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) is a low-tech, highimpact intervention for preterm and low-birth-weight newborns. In 2019, Côte d'Ivoire opened its first KMC unit. We wanted to determine KMC's acceptability in Côte d'Ivoire after a year. This qualitative study used semi-structured interviews in September 2020 at the Teaching Hospital of Treichville's first KMC unit. Mothers of preterm and low birth weight babies who received KMC were studied. Deductive (TFA-driven) framework analysis was performed. Coded using Nvivo 12. KMC was acceptable overall. Mothers knew KMC's goal and benefits, including self-confidence and breastfeeding benefits. Most women reported that the method was easy to implement and were confident in implementing KMC at the unit or in the household, even though some of them found KMC not aligned with their cultural values. Some mothers, especially housewives and self-employed, highlighted the benefits of KMC, but they must have given up. Our study highlighted the need to increase KMC awareness, advocacy, education, and training for pregnant women and the community to reduce preterm and low birth weight infant mortality and morbidity.

The Link between Democratic Institutions and Population Health in the American States.

This project investigates the role of state-level institutions in explaining variation in population health in the American states. Although cross-national research has established the positive effects of democracy on population health, little attention has been given to subnational units. The authors leverage a new data set to understand how political accountability and a system of checks and balances are associated with state population health. The authors estimate error correction models and two-way fixed effects models to estimate how the strength of state-level democratic institutions is associated with infant mortality rates, life expectancy, and midlife mortality. The authors find institutions that promote political accountability are associated with lower infant mortality across the states, while those that promote checks and balances are associated with longer life expectancy. They also find that policy liberalism is associated with better health outcomes. Subnational institutions play an important role in population health outcomes, and more research is needed to understand the link between democracy and health. The authors are the first to explore the link between democratic institutions and population health within the United States, contributing to both the social science literature on the positive effects of democracy and the epidemiological literature on subnational health outcomes.

Maternal, Infant, and Child Health Outcomes Associated With the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children : A Systematic Review.

The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) is intended to improve maternal and child health outcomes. In 2009, the WIC food package changed to better align with national nutrition recommendations. To determine whether WIC participation was associated with improved maternal, neonatal-birth, and infant-child health outcomes or differences in outcomes by subgroups and WIC enrollment duration. Search (January 2009 to April 2022) included PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, ERIC, Scopus, PsycInfo, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials. Included studies had a comparator of WIC-eligible nonparticipants or comparison before and after the 2009 food package change. Paired team members independently screened articles for inclusion and evaluated risk of bias. We identified 20 observational studies. We found: moderate strength of evidence (SOE) that maternal WIC participation during pregnancy is likely associated with lower risk for preterm birth, low birthweight infants, and infant mortality; low SOE that maternal WIC participation may be associated with a lower likelihood of inadequate gestational weight gain, as well as increased well-child visits and childhood immunizations; and low SOE that child WIC participation may be associated with increased childhood immunizations. We found low SOE for differences in some outcomes by race and ethnicity but insufficient evidence for differences by WIC enrollment duration. We found insufficient evidence related to maternal morbidity and mortality outcomes. Data are from observational studies with high potential for selection bias related to the choice to participate in WIC, and participation status was self-reported in most studies. Participation in WIC was likely associated with improved birth outcomes and lower infant mortality, and also may be associated with increased child preventive service receipt. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. (PROSPERO: CRD42020222452).

Early life environments and cognition in adulthood: New evidence using a semiparametric approach and quantile regression

Theories and empirical evidence document the importance of early life environmental factors on later life cognition. A next question is how and in what dimension associations between early life environments and later life cognition vary. Using data from the UK Biobank in conjunction with time-place-specific infant mortality rates, we assessed heterogeneous and non-linear associations between early life conditions and later life cognition. We found that the association between the infant mortality rate and later life cognition increased once the UK achieved very low infant mortality rates, suggesting that additional decreases in infant mortality rates in an industrialized society continue to improve later life cognition. We also found that infant mortality rates have stronger effects at upper quantiles of the cognition distribution. This implies that adverse early life environments may have an important role for an early manifestation of cognitive aging.

Infant mortality and risk factors in Nigeria in 2013-2017: A population-level study.

SummaryBackgroundGlobally, over the past two decades, many countries have significantly reduced the rate of infant mortality. Yet, in Africa, Nigeria remains one of the countries with the highest infant mortality rate (IMR).MethodsWe conducted a population-level study using the 2018 Nigeria Demographic Health Survey (NDHS). A total of 41,668 household data were analyzed retrospectively. The association between each exposure and infant mortality was analyzed in logistic regression models (independently adjusted by demographic and socioeconomic status variables) and confirmed by the multiple comparisons analysis.FindingsThe overall IMR of 2013–2017 was 61.5 (95% CI 58.0, 65.3) per 1000 live births. In general, the North-West and North-East regions had the highest IMR, whereas the South-West, South-East and South-South regions had the lowest IMR. The regression analysis found women who delivered their babies at the age <=18 years old (odds ratio (OR): 1.37 [1.17, 1.62]), had religion of Islam (OR: 1.35 [1.10, 1.65]), no ANC visit (OR: 1.69 [1.21, 2.35]), >4 ANC visits (OR: 1.70 [1.23, 2.34]), ANC not at home or skilled provider (0.40 [0.35, 0.46]) and the babies as the first child (OR: 1.23 [1.07, 1.42]) to be associated with higher IMR.InterpretationOur findings imply that Nigeria is not on track to achieving the SDG target of reducing child mortality by 2030. Sustainable interventions are urgently needed to address the challenges for women of reproductive age, particularly those that are living in the rural areas and Northern regions, having limited/no access to health care/skilled providers, and delivered their first child.FundingNone.

Determinants of dietary practice among pregnant women at the public hospitals in Bench-Sheko and Kaffa Zones, Southwest Ethiopia

BackgroundsThe frequency of poor dietary practice due to inappropriate dietary habits is higher during pregnancy compared to any other stage of the life cycle. Suboptimal dietary practices during pregnancy can increase the risk of intrauterine growth restriction, low birth weight, anemia, prenatal and infant mortality, and morbidity. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the dietary practice and associated factors among pregnant women at the public hospitals of Bench-Sheko and Kaffa zone.MethodologyAn institutional-based cross-sectional study design was conducted among 566 pregnant women who attended antenatal care at the public hospitals of the Bench-Sheko and Kaffa zones. A systematic random sampling technique was employed to select the study units. The data were entered into Epi Data 3.1 and exported to Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 21 software for further analysis. Both Binary and Multivariable logistic regression analyses were used to examine the association between dependent and independent variables. The Crude Odd Ratio (COR) and Adjusted Odd Ratio (AOR) with 95% Confidence interval (CI) were calculated and the variable with P-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.ResultAccording to this study, only 23.7% (95% CI: 20.1, 27.4) of the study participants had a good dietary practice. The urban residents (AOR = 2.64; 95% CI:1.18, 5.92), monthly income of > 2000ETB (AOR = 2.47; 95% CI: 1.31,4.65), having nutrition information (AOR = 2.5; 95% CI: 1.14,5.52), good dietary knowledge (AOR = 2.79; 95% CI: 1.48,5.27), mothers occupation of employer (AOR = 1.88; 95% CI: 1.04,3.42) and a family size < 5 (AOR = 3.37; 95% CI: 1.32,8.65) were determinate of dietary practice.ConclusionGenerally, the prevalence of good dietary practice is suboptimal in the study area. Urban residency, monthly income > 2000ETB, good dietary knowledge, having nutrition information, family size < 5, and government employed mothers were the predictors of the good dietary practice in the Bench-Sheko and Kaffa zone. Therefore, providing in-service training for health professionals and assigning nutritionist to each public hospital should be done to provide health and nutrition education; and strengthen the existed nutrition counseling service for pregnant women. Moreover, the government should create sustainable income-generating activities for pregnant women.

Nicotine Exposure during Rodent Pregnancy Alters the Composition of Maternal Gut Microbiota and Abundance of Maternal and Amniotic Short Chain Fatty Acids.

Tobacco smoking is the leading cause of preventable death. Numerous reports link smoking in pregnancy with serious adverse outcomes, such as miscarriage, stillbirth, prematurity, low birth weight, perinatal morbidity, and infant mortality. Corollaries of consuming nicotine in pregnancy, separate from smoking, are less explored, and the mechanisms of nicotine action on maternal–fetal communication are poorly understood. This study examined alterations in the maternal gut microbiome in response to nicotine exposure during pregnancy. We report that changes in the maternal gut microbiota milieu are an important intermediary that may mediate the prenatal nicotine exposure effects, affect gene expression, and alter fetal exposure to circulating short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) and leptin during in utero development.

Studying social determinants of health using fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis: A worked example

Using fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA), we present an alternative method for studying the social determinants of health (SDHs) that focuses on their configurational paths leading to population health outcomes. In our worked example, we examine the macrosocial determinants of infant mortality based on data covering 149 countries. First, we applied regression techniques to assess the net effects of key macrosocial determinants. Second, we used fsQCA to analyze the same data and identify the configurational paths. We calibrated the macrosocial determinants in terms of both advantages and disadvantages and revealed the configurations of (dis)advantages consistently linked to high infant mortality rates and low infant mortality rates. The regression analysis showed that the net effects of national economic performance, democracy level, inequality, and women's autonomy were all statistically significant. Together, they explained 83% of the variance in infant mortality rates between countries. Following the fuzzy-set analysis, the two main configurational paths to achieve low infant mortality rates were high women's autonomy together with high economic performance and high women's autonomy together with low inequality and full democracy. The main paths that left countries burdened with high infant mortality rates were low economic performance together with either low women's autonomy or high inequality. We conclude that different SDH configurations may lead to the same health outcomes. Therefore, it may not always be sufficient to say which variables matter the most universally, and by using fsQCA, it is possible to move from treating SDHs as competing independent variables to using them in configurations to explain health outcomes.

Stopping Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) After Defeating Poliomyelitis in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Harmful Unintended Consequences? Review of the Nonspecific Effects of OPV.

BackgroundThe live vaccines bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) and measles vaccine have beneficial nonspecific effects (NSEs) reducing mortality, more than can be explained by prevention of tuberculosis or measles infection. Live oral polio vaccine (OPV) will be stopped after polio eradication; we therefore reviewed the potential NSEs of OPV.MethodsOPV has been provided in 3 contexts: (1) coadministration of OPV and diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (DTP) vaccine at 6, 10, and 14 weeks of age; (2) at birth (OPV0) with BCG; and (3) in OPV campaigns (C-OPVs) initiated to eradicate polio infection. We searched PubMed and Embase for studies of OPV with mortality as an outcome. We used meta-analysis to obtain the combined relative risk (RR) of mortality associated with different uses of OPV.ResultsFirst, in natural experiments when DTP was missing, OPV-only compared with DTP + OPV was associated with 3-fold lower mortality in community studies (RR, 0.33 [95% confidence interval {CI}, .14–.75]) and a hospital study (RR, 0.29 [95% CI, .11–.77]). Conversely, when OPV was missing, DTP-only was associated with 3-fold higher mortality than DTP + OPV (RR, 3.23 [95% CI, 1.27–8.21]). Second, in a randomized controlled trial, BCG + OPV0 vs BCG + no OPV0 was associated with 32% (95% CI, 0–55%) lower infant mortality. Beneficial NSEs were stronger with early use of OPV0. Third, in 5 population-based studies from Guinea-Bissau and Bangladesh, the mortality rate was 24% (95% CI, 17%–31%) lower after C-OPVs than before C-OPVs.ConclusionsThere have been few clinical polio cases reported in this century, and no confounding factors or bias would explain all these patterns. The only consistent interpretation is that OPV has beneficial NSEs, reducing nonpolio child mortality.

The effects of health conditions on financial sector development

The relationship between the financial sector and health sector has been under investigated in the literature. Based on the efficiency wage theory, one can conjecture that a healthy worker, unlike the unhealthy one, can work, save, and contribute more to widening the financial sector. Using panel data over the period 1995–2016, we examine whether improvements in health conditions can help explain the expansion of the financial system in Sub-Saharan Africa. The results indicate that better health conditions contribute to financial development. Specifically, higher life expectancy, lower infant mortality, higher health expenditure, and lower out-of-pocket expenditure significantly contribute to financial sector development. These results suggest that better health conditions increase domestic savings and foster financial development. The study, therefore, enhances the importance of health status and spending on health infrastructure in economic development and calls on policymakers to invest in human health.

HUBUNGAN PARITAS TERHADAP BERAT LAHIR DI RSUD PANGERAN JAYA SUMITRA

Health development is one of the National Development efforts. The high and low infant mortality rate (IMR) is mostly influenced by low birth weight. Various efforts to improve the quality of human resources since in the womb have been carried out, one of which is by screening high-risk pregnant women. The purpose of this study was to analyze the relationship between parity and birth weight in the Balleradja room at RSUD Pangeran Jaya Sumitra.&#x0D; This study uses a quantitative research design. The study population was all postpartum mothers who were hospitalized in the Balleradja room at RSUD Pangeran Jaya Sumitra, totaling 31 people. The sample is 31 people (using total sampling technique). The research was conducted in the Balleradja room at RSUD Pangeran Jaya Sumitra. Conducted in February 2022. Data collection using a questionnaire. Data were analyzed by univariate and bivariate. Univariate analysis to present the data results into a frequency distribution table. While the bivariate analysis used the Spearman Rank correlation test with a 95% confidence level. The analytical tool in this study is SPSS 20.0.&#x0D; The results showed that there was no relationship between parity and birth weight of infants in Prince Jaya Sumitra Hospital (p value = 0.778 or p value &gt; 0.05).

Does health aid reduce infant mortality? Cross-country evidence

Does health aid help reduce infant mortality? Despite a growing literature, existing findings have no consensus. To investigate the relationship between health aid and infant mortality, this paper applies polynomial inverse lag (PIL) framework to panel data from 131 countries over the period 2002–2019, and focuses on the instant and long-term impacts of health aid on infant mortality. The results indicate that health aid can effectively reduce infant mortality and it has a greatest effect in the current year. More specifically, a 1% rise in health aid causes a 1.53% drop in infant mortality instantly, though the impact tails off over time. The results maintain robustness across specifications. Heterogeneity test shows that health aid’s benign impact is more pronounced in deep poverty countries. Finally, it is found that aid raises public health expenditure of recipient countries, leading to a better health care system and a lower infant mortality.