Journal of Exclusion Studies

Infant mortality rate (IMR) is regarded as an important and sensitive indicator of the health status of a community. Infant and child mortality rates reflect a country’s level of socio economic development and quality of life and are used for monitoring and evaluating population, health programmes and policies. The Institutional delivery is crucial for the child survival. This paper is focused on the place of delivery and infant mortality in rural Aligarh (Uttar Pradesh). It is primarily based on the primary data supplemented with secondary data. It examines (a) Mortality rate among neonates and infants; (b) Pattern of place of delivery and Infant deaths in Jawan Block of Aligarh District and (c) Causes of the infant deaths. All the deaths in children under 12 months during April 2011 to March 2012 in Jawan block of district Aligarh, India were recorded. The social determinants of infant deaths were ascertained using the survey method. During primary data collection period, 338 live births and 25 deaths in children under 1 year of age were reported. The neonatal and IMRs were 47.33 and 73.96 per thousand live births respectively. The IMR (49.55) was found low among those who preferred institutional delivery. On the contrary, 120.69 IMR was observed among home delivery respondents. The paper concludes that the infant deaths are preventable by promotion of institutional delivery and exclusive breast feeding.