The effect of previous child death on infant and child mortality in rural Nepal

Data from the Nepal Fertility Survey 1976, which was carried out by the Nepal Family Planning and Maternal-Child Health Project in collaboration with the World Fertility Survey, is used to explore the interrelationships of sibling mortality. Even when demographic variables are considered, the risk of infant and child death is considerably higher among children of mothers whose previous child died than among those whose previous child survived. An attempt is also made to examine whether it is because of close birth spacing or because of the family environment that the previous child loss puts the subsequent children at an excessive risk of dying during infancy and childhood.