The Effect of Breastfeeding and Other Covariates on Infant Mortality in Amhara National Regional State of Ethiopia

Selamawit Welkema, AIDS Resource Center, Addis Ababa

The level of infant mortality has been declining in many developing countries including Sub-Saharan Africa in the past decades.To minimize such high rate of infant mortality, thoughtful knowledge of the association and effects of breastfeeding, socio-economic and demographic factors on infant survivorship is vital. Accordingly, this study examines the effects of breastfeeding and other determinants of infant mortality in Amhara region.In this study, duration of breastfeeding is found to be strongly significant as to explain the variation in death of infants. The risk of dying reduces as the duration of breastfeeding increases. The relative risk of death has been increased for infants followed by short preceding birth intervals (<24 months), those born to younger and older mothers (<20 and 35-49 years).In order to reduce mortality during infancy, improvement in contraceptive usage to lengthen intervals between consecutive births and avoid unintended pregnancies at younger ages is vital.