Incidence of infant death among the baiga tribe of Chhattisgarh, India

All children have the right to survive and thrive. Yet, children and adolescents still face significant challenges surviving past infancy and developing to their full potential. In 2019, 6.1 million children and young adolescents died, mostly from preventable causes. Objectives of the present study are to explore the incidences and determinants of infant death among the Baiga tribe of Chhattisgarh. This study is a retrospective, quantitative and exploratory and quasi qualitative research. Regarding the present study it has chosen the Baiga tribe. Structured interview schedule and non-participant observation were used for collection and cross validation of data. The results were analyzed using the 16.0 SPSS package. Pearson's chi-square test and multinomial logistic regression analysis were used. More than half (51.2%) of the respondents had lost one or more than one infant already, out of this percentage, 46.3% respondents had lost one infant, which was 23.8%, of the total respondents. Just more than one third (35.2%) respondents witnessed the death of male infant, whereas 33% respondents were the helpless witness of the death of female ones. It can be presumed that delivery of the Baiga newborn by either untrained or trained “Dai” were one of the causal factors for death of male infant of the respondents. Most of the respondents have believed that the illness of their infant is the major cause for the death. The unpleasant fact is not only the cause of general tragedy in the Baiga household; it is also a pointer to utter failure in government health services in the backward sector. The non-participant observation finished by the researcher throughout the fieldwork is authenticated that the foremost cause for incidences of large-scale infant deaths in the Baiga tribe is the tremendous poverty widespread in them and the maternal malnutrition during pre and post partum period and failure of reproductive and child health programme in the Baiga community.