title: Birth intervals and childhood mortality in rural Bangladesh.
abstract: This study investigates the relationship between birth intervals and childhood mortality, using longitudinal data from rural Bangladesh known to be of exceptional accuracy and completeness. Results demonstrate significant but very distinctive effects of the previous and subsequent birth intervals on mortality, with the former concentrated in the neonatal period and the latter during early childhood. The impact of short birth intervals on mortality, however, is substantially less than that found in many previous studies of this issue, particularly for the previous birth interval. The findings are discussed in terms of the potential for family planning programs to contribute to improved child survival in settings such as Bangladesh.
authors.affiliation: International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Koenig
authors.forename: J F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Phillips
authors.forename: O M
authors.initials: OM
authors.lastname: Campbell
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: D'Souza
mesh_terms: D001459:Bangladesh / Q000453:epidemiology; D001721:Birth Intervals; D001942:Breast Feeding; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015986:Confounding Factors, Epidemiologic; D004190:Disasters; D005193:Family Planning Services; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007226:Infant Mortality; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D015993:Life Tables; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D009026:Mortality; D012424:Rural Population