Infant Mortality And Its Effect On Children

A child who loses his or her parent is called orphan. A person who loses his or her spouse is called widow or widower. As hard as I looked for, I did not find a name to describe a parent who outlive his or her child, for such a tragedy remains unspeakable and unthinkable. A child dies every 10 seconds, and even more outrageous, almost 3 million babies die in the first month of life (UNICEF). The death of these babies before their first birthday is known as infant mortality. Most cases of infant deaths happen in less-developed countries, where babies often die at home, unnamed, and unrecorded. Primary factors contributing to infant mortality may include poverty, lack of access to quality education, and environmental pollution.
First, poverty is the main cause of infant mortality. As defined by Encyclopaedia Britannica, "Poverty is said to exist when people lack the means to satisfy their basic needs.” (“Poverty”). Basic needs for babies are not more than food and proper medical care.
Without good nutrition or effective medical care, their chances of survival are minimal. The poor countries struggle with malnutrition, which is reflected in the unequal distribution of food, as well as in the quality and measure of food. The lack of proper nutrition for babies or a diet low in calories, proteins, essential vitamins, and minerals is a sign of malnutrition. Moreover, as Kara Rogers presents in “The Science of Nutrition”, in some parts of Africa, “the practice of weaning breast-fed infants to a diet consisting chiefly of one kind of starchy food, such as cassava, may lead to protein deficiency” (94). Deficiencies in minerals, proteins, or vitamins have a serious impact on baby’s health and most of the times cause specific nutr...

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...se who survive have high risks of brain, respiratory, and digestive problems in early life.” Newborns exposure to a high concentration of various pollutants like car exhaust, chemicals from factories, dust, pollen, mold, pesticides may lead to various respiratory problems, immune system disorders, cancer or even death.
By and large, people tend to take for granted the delicious food they eat, the medicine they take, the clean water they drink and the fresh air they breathe. However, they should be aware that it is enough to blink twice, and a child is gone because he or she is starved, dehydrated, ill or exposed to unhealthy air. Just by taking a moment to think about it, to educate ourselves and to understand more deeply the factors that cause infant mortality, we become aware and ready to change something for all babies who are doomed to have an unfair destiny.