Orphaned and vulnerable to infection, undernutrition and early death: increasing threats to infants and children.
Infants and young children in Guinea-Bissau who were made motherless had much higher mortality rates than a control group of subjects. Child mortality was higher in rural than urban children and was highest under 2 y of age and within 6 mo of their mothers' deaths. The authors of this study, which appears elsewhere in this issue, suggest that premature weaning may contribute to this excess mortality.


CONCLUSIONS
There are many causes of maternal mortality that can lead to motherlessness among infants and children, particularly in developing countries. Multifaceted approaches to the care of these children are needed to lessen their excessive mortality. Paediatricians have a potentially very important role in preventing this burden of childhood ill-health and deaths.
School of Public Health, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia. m.gracey@optusnet.com.au
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M
Gracey
D005581:Foster Home Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006169:Guinea-Bissau; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007226:Infant Mortality; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008428:Maternal Mortality; D010819:Physician's Role; D011203:Poverty; D012424:Rural Population; D014505:Urban Population