Birth Intervals and Infant Mortality in Indonesia

Abstract

Abstract:Birth interval is the period between two live births of a woman. In Indonesia, the National Family Planning Agency recommends a birth interval of between 36–60 months to reduce the risk of maternal and child mortality. The objective of this research is to analyze birth intervals and their relationship with infant mortality using survival analysis of data from the 2017 Indonesia Demographic and Health Survey. Infant mortality was calculated using person-years, and Kaplan-Meier curves were used to describe the relationship between infant mortality and preceding birth interval. The Cox proportional hazard model was used for multivariate analysis, revealing a negative relationship between birth interval and infant mortality. For each one-year increase in birth length, there is a reduction in infant mortality of 11.9 percent. This study also shows that the economic status of mother significantly affects infant mortality, with babies born to poor mothers 1.84 times more likely to die.