Effects of Birth Order on Morbidity of Under-5 Children in Rural Tamil Nadu

The health and well being of under-five children depends on various factors including maternal age, birth order, etc. Birth order is a significant predictor of the under-five mortality and morbidity. This study was carried out to evaluate the impact of birth order on the morbidity of under-five children in rural Tamil Nadu.

His cross sectional study was carried out on 370 under-five children residing in the rural field practice area of our institution for a period of three months. A structured interview schedule was used to obtain information regarding the obstetric history, birth history and medical history of the participants.

Children whose birth order was more than 2 were at a higher risk of getting more than 3 episodes of diarrhea (OR 3.5, p<0.05) Overcrowding and under nutrition were also significantly associated with increased birth order (p<0.05).

Although the prevalence of birth order beyond three children has drastically come down in the recent decades, it is continues to persist in rural pockets and groups with low socio economic status. There is a need for revisiting the family welfare strategies in order to minimize the birth order.