Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-cfpbc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-20T02:48:55.564Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

BIRTH ORDER, STAGE OF INFANCY AND INFANT MORTALITY IN INDIA

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 October 2017

S. K. Mishra ,
Bali Ram ,
Abhishek Singh  and
Awdhesh Yadav
S. K. Mishra
Affiliation:
L.B.S. College, Mughalsarai, Uttar Pradesh, India
Bali Ram*
Affiliation:
Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Western University, London, Ontario, Canada
Abhishek Singh
Affiliation:
International Institute for Population Sciences, Mumbai, India
Awdhesh Yadav
Affiliation:
Public Health Foundation, Gurugram, India
*
1Corresponding author. Email: bram42@yahoo.com
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

Using data from India’s National Family Health Survey, 2005–06 (NFHS-3), this article examines the patterns of relationship between birth order and infant mortality. The analysis controls for a number of variables, including mother’s characteristics such as age at the time of survey, current place of residence (urban/rural), years of schooling, religion, caste, and child’s sex and birth weight. A modest J-shaped relationship between birth order of children and their risk of dying in the neonatal period is found, suggesting that although both first- and last-born children are at a significantly greater risk of dying compared with those in the middle, last-borns (i.e. fourth and higher order births) are at the worst risk. However, in the post-neonatal period first-borns are not as vulnerable, but the risk increases steadily with the addition of successive births and last-borns are at much greater risk, even worse than those in the neonatal period. Although the strength of relationship between birth order and mortality is attenuated after the potential confounders are taken into account, the relationship between the two variables remains curvilinear in the neonatal period and direct in the post-neonatal period. There are marked differences in these patterns by the child’s sex. While female children are less prone to the risk of dying in the neonatal period in comparison with male children, the converse is true in the post-neonatal period. Female children not only run higher risks of dying in the post-neonatal period, but also become progressively more vulnerable with an increase in birth order.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Biosocial Science , Volume 50 , Issue 5 , September 2018 , pp. 604 - 625
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press, 2017 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Altindag, O. (2016) Son preference, fertility decline, and the nonmissing girls of Turkey. Demography 53, 541–566.Google Scholar
Astolfi, P., Ulizzi, L. & Zonta, L. A. (2000) Natural selection and reproductive behaviour in Italy 1930–1993. Human Biology 72, 349–357.Google Scholar
Astolfi, P. & Zonta, L. A. (1999) Risks of preterm delivery and association with maternal age, birth order and fetal gender. Human Reproduction 14, 2891–2894.Google Scholar
Ayeni, O. & Oduntan, S. O. (1978) The effects of sex, birthweight, birth order and maternal age in infant mortality in a Nigerian community. Annals of Human Biology 5, 353–358.Google Scholar
Barclay, K. J. (2014) The Long-term Impact of Birth Order on Health and Educational Attainment. Stockholm University, Stockholm.Google Scholar
Barclay, K. J. & Kolk, M. (2015) Birth order and mortality: a population based cohort study. Demography 52, 613–639.Google Scholar
Basu, A. M. & Stephenson, R. (2005) Low level of maternal education and the proximate determinants of childhood mortality: a little learning is not a dangerous thing. Social Science & Medicine 60, 2011–2023.Google Scholar
Bhalotra, S., Valente, C. & Van Soest, A. (2009) The Puzzle of Muslim Advantage in Child Survival in India. Discussion Paper No. 4009, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA), Bonn, Germany.Google Scholar
Bicego, G. T. & Boerma, J. T. (1993) Maternal education and child survival: a comparative study of survey data from 17 countries. Social Science & Medicine 36, 1207–1027.Google Scholar
Black, R. E., Morris, S. S. & Bryce, J. (2003) Why and where are 10 million children dying every year? Lancet 361, 2226–2234.Google Scholar
Black, S. E, Devereux, P. J. & Salvanes, K. G. (2005) The more the merrier? The effect of family size and birth order on children’s education. Quarterly Journal of Economics 120, 669–700.Google Scholar
Blake, J. (1981) Family size and the quality of children. Demography 18, 421–442.Google Scholar
Brenøe, A. A. & Molitor, R. (2015) Birth Order and Health of Newborns: What Can We Learn from Danish Registry Data? CINCH – Health Economics Research Center Edmund-Körner-Platz, Essen, Germany.Google Scholar
Buckles, K. C. & Kolka, S. (2014) Parental investment, breastfeeding, and birth order. Social Science & Medicine 118, 66–70.Google Scholar
Cabrera, R. (1980) The influence of maternal age, birth order and socioeconomic status on infant mortality in Chile. American Journal of Public Health 70, 174–177.Google Scholar
Caldwell, J. (1979) Education as a factor in mortality decline. Population Studies 33, 395–413.Google Scholar
Choe, M. K., Ho, H. & Wang, F. (1995) Effects of gender, birth order, and other correlates on childhood mortality in China. Social Biology 42, 50–64.Google Scholar
Cleland, J. G. & Van Ginneken, J. K. (1988) Maternal education and child survival in developing countries: the search for pathways of influence. Social Science & Medicine 27, 1357–1368.Google Scholar
Cote, K., Blanchard, R. & Lalumiere, M. L. (2003) The influence of birth order on birth weight: does the sex of the preceding sibling matter? Journal of Biosocial Science 35, 455–462.Google Scholar
Croll, E. J. (2002) Fertility decline, family size and female discrimination: a study of reproductive management in East and South Asia. Asia-Pacific Population Journal 7, 11–38.Google Scholar
Das Gupta, M. (1987) Selective discrimination against female children in rural Punjab, India. Population and Development Review 13, 77–100.Google Scholar
Das Gupta, M. & Bhat, P. N. M. (1997) Fertility decline and increased manifestation of sex bias in India. Population Studies 51, 307–315.Google Scholar
Das Gupta, M., Zhenghua, J., Bobua, L., Zbenming, X., Chung, W. & Hwa-Ok, B. (2003) Why is son preference so persistent in East and South Asia? A cross-country study of China, India and the Republic of Korea. Journal of Development Studies 40, 153–187.Google Scholar
Dowding, V. M. (1981) New assessment of the effects of birth order and socioeconomic status on birth weight. British Medical Journal 282, 683–686.Google Scholar
Elliott, B. A. (1992) Birth order and health: major issues. Social Science & Medicine 35, 443–452.Google Scholar
Fessler, D. M. T., Navarrete, C. D., Hopkins, W. & Izard, M. K. (2005) Examining the terminal investment hypothesis in humans and chimpanzees: associations among maternal age, parity, and birth. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 127, 95–104.Google Scholar
Finley, J. E., Ozaltin, E. & Canning, D. (2011) The association of maternal age with infant mortality, child anthropometric failure, diarrhoea and anaemia for first births: evidence from 55 low- and middle-income countries. British Medical Journal Open 2011(1), e000226.Google Scholar
Gavrielov-Yusim, N., Battat, E., Neumann, L., Friger, M. & Balicer, R. D. (2012) Birth order and private voluntary immunization – a study of 110,902 children. Vaccine 30, 442–447.Google Scholar
Geruso, M. & Spears, D. (2014) Sanitation and health externalities: resolving the Muslim mortality paradox. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Population Association of America, Boston, MA, USA, 1st–3rd May 2014.Google Scholar
Govindasamy, P. & Ramesh, B. M. (1997) Maternal Education and the Utilization of Maternal and Child Health Services in India. National Family Health Survey Subject Reports No. 5. International Institute for Population Sciences, Mumbai, India, and Macro International Inc., Calverton, MD, USA.Google Scholar
Gribble, J. N. (1993) Birth intervals, gestational age, and low birth weight: are the relationships confounded? Population Studies 47, 133–146.Google Scholar
Guillot, M. & Allendorf, K. (2010) Hindu–Muslim differentials in child mortality in India. Genus 66, 43–68.Google Scholar
Haaga, J. G. (1989) Mechanisms for the association of maternal age, parity, and birth spacing with infant health. In Parnell, A. M. (ed.) Contraceptive Use and Controlled Fertility: Health Issues for Women and Children Background Papers. National Academy Press, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Hanushek, E. (1992) The trade-off between child quantity and quality. Journal of Political Economy 100, 84–117.Google Scholar
Holman, R. C., Shay, D. K., Curns, A. T., Lingappa, J. M. & Anderson, L. J. (2003) Risk factors for bronchiolitis-associated deaths among infants in the United States. Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal 22, 483–489.Google Scholar
Horton, S. (1988) Birth order and child nutritional status: evidence from the Philippines. Economic Development and Cultural Change 36, 341–344.Google Scholar
Hotz, V. J. & Pantano, J. (2015) Strategic parenting, birth order and school performance. Journal of Population Economics 28, 911–936.Google Scholar
IIPS & ORC Macro (2007) National Family Health Survey (NFHS-3), India, 2005–06. ORC Macro, Calverton, MD, USA and International Institute for Population Sciences, Mumbai.Google Scholar
Kaplan, B. A., Mascie-Taylor, C. G. N. & Boldsen, J. (1992) Birth order and health status in a British national sample. Journal of Biosocial Science 24, 25–33.Google Scholar
Kembo, J. & Van Ginneken, J. K. (2009) Determinants of infant and child mortality in Zimbabwe: results of multivariate hazards analysis. Demographic Research 21, 367–384.Google Scholar
Kramer, M. S. (1987) Determinants of low birth weight: methodological assessment and meta-analysis. Bulletin of the World Health Organization 65, 663–737.Google Scholar
Lahiri, S., Hazra, A. & Singh, A. (2011) Sex differentials in childhood mortality in Punjab and Haryana – are they reality? Journal of Population Studies 43, 71–98.Google Scholar
Lawn, J. E., Zupan, C. S. & Lancet Neonatal Survival Steering Team (2005) 4 million neonatal deaths: when? Where? Why? Lancet 365, 891–900.Google Scholar
Li, L. & Wu, X. (2011) Gender of children, bargaining power, and intrahousehold resource allocation in China. Journal of Human Resources 46, 205–316.Google Scholar
McCormick, M. C. (1985) The contribution of low birth weight to infant mortality and childhood morbidity. New England Journal of Medicine 312, 82–90.Google Scholar
Matthews, T. J. & MacDorman, M. (2013) Infant Mortality Statistics from the 2009 Period Linked Birth/Infant Death Data Set. National Vital Statistics Reports No. 61 (8). National Centre for Health Statistics, Hyattsville, MD, USA.Google Scholar
Miller, J. E. (1994) Birth order, interpregnancy interval and birth outcomes among Filipino infants. Journal of Biosocial Science 26, 243–259.Google Scholar
Modin, B. (2002) Birth order and mortality: a life-long follow-up of 14,200 boys and girls born in the early 20th century Sweden. Social Science & Medicine 54, 1051–1064.Google Scholar
Pandey, A., Choe, M. K., Luther, N. Y., Sahu, D. & Chand, J. (1998) Infant and child mortality in India. National Family Health Survey Subject Reports No. 11. International Institute for Population Sciences Mumbai, India and East–West Center Program on Population Honolulu, Hawaii, USA.Google Scholar
Parish, W. L. & Willis, R. J. (1993) Daughters, education, and family budgets: Taiwan experiences. Journal of Human Resources 28, 863–898.Google Scholar
Penn, D. J. & Smith, K. R. (2007) Differential fitness costs of reproduction between the sexes. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA 104, 553–558.Google Scholar
Price, J. (2008) Parental quality time: does birth order matter? Journal of Human Resources 43, 240–265.Google Scholar
Puffer, R. R. & Serrano, C. V. (1975) Birthweight, Maternal Age and Birth Order: Three Important Determinants of Infant Mortality. Pan American Health Organization, World Health Organization, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Ram, B. (2012) Fertility decline and family change in India: a demographic perspective. Journal of Contemporary Family Studies 42, 11–40.Google Scholar
Ram, B., Singh, A. & Yadav, A. (2016) The persistent caste divide in India’s infant mortality: a study of Dalits (ex-untouchables), Adivasis (indigenous peoples), other backward classes, and forward castes. Canadian Studies in Population 43, 249–263.Google Scholar
Ram, U., Jha, P., Ram, F., Kumar, K., Awasthi, S., Seth, A. et al. (2013) Neonatal, 1–59 month, and under-5 mortality in 597 Indian districts, 2001 to 2012: estimates from national demographic and mortality surveys. Lancet 1, e219–e226.Google Scholar
Rao, R. S., Caleb, L., Khan, M. E. & Townsend, J. W. (2001) Safer maternity in rural Uttar Pradesh: do primary health services contribute? Health Policy and Planning 16, 256–263.Google Scholar
Ren, X. T. (1995) Sex differences in infant and child mortality in three provinces in China. Social Science & Medicine 40, 1259–1269.Google Scholar
Riordan, D. V., Morris, C., Hattie, J. & Stark, C. (2011) Family size and perinatal circumstances, as mental health risk factors in a Scottish birth cohort. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology 47, 975e983.Google Scholar
Samuelsen, S. O., Magnus, P. & Bakketeig, L. (1998) Birth weight and mortality in childhood in Norway. American Journal of Epidemiology 148, 983–991.Google Scholar
Sawyer, C. C. (2012) Child mortality estimation: estimating sex differences in childhood mortality since the 1970s. PLoS Medicine 9(8), e1001287.Google Scholar
Schaffer, S. J. & Szilagyi, P. G. (1995) Immunization and birth order. Archive of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine 149, 792–797.Google Scholar
Seidman, D. S., Ever-Hadani, P., Stevenson, D. K., Slater, P. E., Harlap, S. & Gale, R. (1988) Birth order and birth weight reexamined. Obstetrics and Gynaecology 72, 158–162.Google Scholar
Shoham-Yakubovich, I. & Barell, V. (1988) Maternal education as a modifier of the association between low birthweight and infant mortality. International Journal of Epidemiology 17, 370–377.Google Scholar
Siervo, M., Horta, B., Stephen, B., Victoria, C. & Wells, J. (2010) First-borns carry a high metabolic risk in early adulthood: evidence from a prospective cohort study. PLoS One 5(11), doi: 10.1371éjournal.pone.0013907.Google Scholar
Singh, R. & Tripathi, V. (2013) Maternal factors contributing to under-five mortality at birth order 1 to 5 in India: a comprehensive multivariate study. SpringerPlus 2, 284, doi: 10.1186/2193-1801-2-284.Google Scholar
Sonneveldt, E. W., Plosky, D. & Stover, J. (2013) Linking high parity and maternal and child mortality: what is the impact of lower health services coverage among higher order births? BMC Public Health 13 (Supplement 3), doi: 10.1186/1471-2458-13-S3-S7.Google Scholar
Strachan, D. P. (1989) Hay fever, hygiene, and household size. British Medical Journal 299, 1259–1260.Google Scholar
Sulloway, F. J. (1996) Born to Rebel: Birth Order, Family Dynamics, and Creative Lives. Pantheon Books, New York.Google Scholar
Swamy, G., Edwards, S., Gelfand, A., James, S. A. & Miranda, M. L. (2012) Maternal age, birth order, and race: differential effects on birthweight. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health 66, 136–142.Google Scholar
UNICEF (2014) Levels and Trends in Child Mortality. United Nations Children’s Fund, New York.Google Scholar
UNICEF & WHO (2004) Low Birthweight: Country, Regional and Global Estimates. United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF, New York.Google Scholar
Wilcox, A. J. & Russell, I. T. (1983) Birthweight and perinatal mortality: II. On weight-specific mortality. International Journal of Epidemiology 12, 319–325.Google Scholar
Wong, S. S. (1990) Birth order and birth weight of Saudi newborns. Perspectives on Public Health 110, 96–97.Google Scholar
Zajonc, R. B. & Markus, G. B. (1975) Birth order and intellectual development. Psychological Review 82, 74–88.Google Scholar