Early Years
About 2.5 million babies are born in Bangladesh each year but many of them die before they reach their fifth birthday. The infant mortality rate fell from 57 per thousand live births in 1998 to 56 per thousand live births in 2001. The mortality rate fell from 92 to 82 per thousand over the same period.
Causes of death in infants About two-thirds of infant mortality is accounted for by neonatal deaths – those that occur within a month of birth. The main causes are low birth weight and pre-term delivery, and non-communicable diseases, mainly birth-related ailments, which cause about 71.4 per cent of neonatal deaths.
Diseases Diseases which could be prevented by vaccination kill tens of thousands of children under the age of five. These include:
According to the World Health Organization (WHO) Coverage Evaluation Survey of 2003 just over half of the country’s children are fully immunized with antigens included in the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI), and no cases of polio have been reported since 2001. Nutrition Malnutrition among children and mothers is a major concern. In 2001, half of all children below the age of five were underweight; 57 per cent of them were stunted and 47 per cent anaemic. About 50 per cent of pregnant women are anaemic. Most children aged 1–5, though, now receive vitamin A supplementation in their diets, with the result that fewer than 1 per cent suffer from night blindness. Seven out of 10 households consume iodized salt, which counteracts Iodine Deficiency Disorders (IDD). Childcare practices There are major discrepancies in the knowledge and practices of early childhood care and development for the under-5 children. The use of physical punishment while bringing up children is common. Birth registration Although more than 5 million children under the age of five have had their birth registered, this accounts for only 7.5 per cent of this age group. Maternal mortality Only 12.6 per cent of births in rural areas take place in hospitals or local health centres. The corresponding figure for urban areas is 24.5 per cent. Midwives, nurses or doctors assisted 11.6 per cent of deliveries in 2001. Relatives and others attended the rest. The Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) declined from 440 per 10,000 childbirths in 1997 to 315 in 2001. An estimated 370,000 of the 2.5 million women who become pregnant each year develop fatal complications, which the health facilities in the country are neither equipped nor able to handle.
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