CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

According to the medical dictionary, infant is a child during his or her first year of life till 5 years old of life. Then, infant mortality is the number of death which occurs among the young once. Infant mortality rate which is also known as (IMR) correlates very strongly with life expectancy t birth by region and is among the best predictors of state failure.

IMR is therefore also a very useful indicator of a country level of health development and is a component of the physical quality of life index.

Due to the improvement in the care and general management of diseases among the children and the prevention of this diseases which has lead to a better life for the infant, and some common challenges infancy is now the subject of this project. The diseases accounting for infant mortality is statistically analyzed carefully.

The study of infant mortality is of great economic, social, political and cultural importance for the determination of future population in humanity.

Also, this research gives the life expectancy at birth, which to a great extent helps in making population projection. The most important among the population policies are fundamentally related to those of health and mortality.

In Edo state Irrua comprises of towns and also with a great population.  The entire infant mortality rate in this project covers both male and female.

Irrua specialist teaching hospital comprises of several unit, which includes; the administrative unit the medical unit, the medical unit, and the general nursing unit.

For the study of infant mortality, we refer to infant (children between the ages of 0-5) years of life. The death that may occur between this early years receives more attention since infant mortality takes a relatively heavy toll on life, both a fair and low death rate implies a substantial number of infant death because infant contains large portion of total population.

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

This research work is being carried out to detect the rate of infant mortality (IMR)

In Edo state using Irrua specialist teaching hospital as a case study and to know the causes of this mortality and the most common killer diseases of infants that has taken place in Irrua specialist teaching hospital as a case study.

1.3 RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS:

HO: There is a significant difference between the rate of male infant mortality and female infant.

HI: There is no significant difference between the rate of male infant mortality and female infant.

1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The purpose of this study is to ascertain the total number of death that occurred from 2005-20010 in Irrua local government area.

Also, the study shows which among the male and female infant are mostly affected by this death.

The study also looks at the diagnosis of the diseases that constitutes to the infant mortality.

  1.5 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

Though the topic of this research is a wide topic (an analysis of infant mortality) as a result, it infant mortality will mainly be taken into account.

Therefore the scope of this study is restricted on Irrua west local government in Edo state. The decision to particularize the research in Irrua is due to the respect of infant. Mortality problem in this town with the statistical test that will be carried out on the effect will give the suggestion and valid inferences will be made to reduce this infant mortality rate.

     This project is limited to Irrua specialist teaching hospital due to the data collected from it well organized recording department.

1.6 LIMITATION

Lack of finance which is the most common problem a researcher will encounter in carrying out a research constitutes the inability of getting more information from one place to another to collect this data.

The method adopted in collecting this data is secondary which may subject to no or little error.

Though, to collect the data is not an easy job but with all the effort put together, it was possible to achieve.

1.7 DEFINITION OF TERMS

• Still birth: Still birth is a situation was by a baby is born dead.
• NEO Natal death: this is the death of babies after birth.
• Pre-Natal mortality: this is the period of the early death that starts from Festus too late birth before birth takes place.
• Exogenous death: these are the death caused by external factors such as accident.
• Endogenous death: these are the death caused by physical factors such as illness of any sort.
• Lactation: this is the period in which mothers/nursing mothers breast feed their babies.
• Live birth: the world health organization (WHO) defines live birth as  any born human  being who demonstrate independent signs of life including breathing, heartbeat, umbilical cord pulsations