Abstract:

Pakistan was among the pioneers in the developing world to introduce national programs in maternal and child health (MCH) and family planning. However, the pace of development in the social sector could not be maintained over decades of political instability within the country and the perpetually volatile geopolitical situation outside the country.

Despite advances in medical science, infant mortality continues to Pakistan. Given the paucity of reliable information this study was undertaken to examine risk factors associated with infant mortality in Punjab, Pakistan.

A total of 240 respondents (health workers) were recruited for the study using simple random sampling from selected public hospitals in Punjab, Pakistan. These hospitals were selected applying a purposive sampling approach and were used as a study site.

A formal request was made to the authorities of the hospital's understudy for the recruitment/inclusion of respondents (health workers) in the study in order to obtain data.

A pre-tested structured questionnaire was administered to the respondents for primary data collection. The questionnaire was formed under three subheadings: pre-pregnancy factors, antenatal factors and post-natal factors.

Presentation and analysis of data is done using descriptive statistics and chi-square test. Results obtained showed the existence of a highly significant difference between the parameters that were considered in this study. Therefore, it is surmised that the parameters studied under pre-pregnancy, antenatal and post-natal risk factors contribute to infant mortality in Punjab, Pakistan.

Keywords: Infant Mortality, Risk Factors, Pregnancy, IMR.

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