Abstract

PIP: The differentials in infant and child mortality is discussed, with special attention given to patterns related to sex-specific birth order and the mother's education. Data was collected from rural Punjab between 1968-73 during a health intervention project. Findings suggest that the influence of maternal education, sex and birth order interacted in a complex manner. 2nd and higher order daughters were found to have a higher mortality rate relative to 1st daughters and sons. Children of educated mothers had a lower risk of dying even though the population's education level was very low. Even among educated mothers daughters of 2nd or higher birth order had abnormally high mortality in the 1st month of life. This is theorized to reflect the fact that resource allocation is devoted to 1st order sons and daughters. 4 factors determined the health of the children: 1) the resources like money, time and skills available to the family. 2) the disease environment in which the child lives. 3) the child's genetic endowment. 4) the allocation decisions made by the family regarding distribution of available resources. During the health intervention operation data on mortality, fertility, health service utilization, and socioeconomic status were collected by continuous record systems, longitudinal surveys, and cross sectional retrospective surveys. The determinants of child survival were examined using a multivariate extension of life tables known as hazard models.