Trends and determinants of neonatal mortality in Uganda: Analysis of the Uganda demographic and health surveys
Demography
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Issue: 1
(02 - 2021)
Background: Uganda's neonatal mortality has stagnated at 27 deaths per I ,000 live births over the
past
decade. Studying consistent factors could inform policy to reduce it.
Data Source and Methods: We used Uganda Demographic and Health Surveys (200 I to 2016) in
analyses.
Results: Children who were not put on breast milk immediately after birth and children of mothers
with multiple maternal risk factors were associated with higher odds (3. I and 2.0 respectively) of
neonatal deaths in 2016. The maternal risk factors include: young mothers, too old, short birth
intervals or many children. Neonatal deaths was also higher among male compared to female newborns.
Conclusion: There is a need to raise awareness about the importance of breastfeeding newborns
immediately after birth. Interventions to reduce maternal risl‹ factors are critical to reducing
neonatal mortality in Uganda. Programmes need measures that can reduce more neonatal deaths among
male than female.
Keywords: Neonatal, mortality, Uganda, children, trends
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