Under Nutrition and Childhood Mortality: A Public Health Problem among Rural Under Five Children of South Karnataka, India

Infant and under five mortality rates are reliable indicators of health status of the children. Despite accelerated growth, prevalence of hunger, under nutrition and mortality in rural part of the country is still persists. While under nutrition among children is very pervasive child mortality is rather high in rural India. The current study is conducted in Two remote villages of Hassan and Kodagu districts of South Karnataka-India. Study was conducted on (Boys 160, Girls 140) preschool children, selected through stratified sampling design technique. This study was found that stunting in 75.0%, wasting in 81.7% and underweight in 87.6% of both Boys and Girls of pre-school children. In case of Anemia, 48% of Girls and 56% of Boys were severely affected while 47% of Girls and 41% of Boys were modestly affected. 10% of Boys and 28% Girls were observed mildly affected. It is also found that clinical sign of Anemia among 62% of the studied children. Next, 21% children found Vitamin A deficiency and 22% children found vitamin B complex deficiency. Study also found that only 67% children were put on breast feeding within Three hours after the birth. It is also noted that income poverty, bad personal habits, changing health seeking behavior, cultural practices regarding delivery, childrearing and breast feeding also plays a vital role in case of mortality problem where Government and NGO should focus on these issues immediately.