ABSTRACT

Purpose:

It is not possible to single out any factor in infant deaths: many factors and events have a direct or indirect effect. The aim of our study was to determine infant deaths and the influencing factors in the town of Gölbaşı, Ankara.

Materials and Methods:

The study was performed in Gölbaşı and the surrounding villages as a nested case-control study. A questionnaire form was used for data collection. The study was conducted by visiting each house and conducting face-to-face interviews. Logistic regression analy-sis was carried out on the factors thought to be influencing infant deaths.

Results:

The place of the birth and the person preconditioned for the de-livery (OR 1.495, 95% CI 1.561-161.466), the attendance of the infant at healthcare checks (OR 4.481, 95% CI 1.359-14.772), whether the infant was nursed (OR 42.513, 95% CI 11.833-152.745), the number of preg-nancies of the mother (OR 1.781, 95% CI 1.561-161.466), and low birth weight (OR 4.715, 95% CI 1.072-20.741) were found to affect infant de-aths. The education level of the mother, the age when the mother beca-me pregnant, and the gender of the infant had no significant effect on in-fant deaths.

Conclusion:

More than one factor affects infant deaths. Correct analysis of these factors is of importance for preventing infant deaths.