The Situation of Child Mortality and Parity Classified by the Age

of the Mother in Indonesia

Purwo Setiyo Nugroho

1,2 a

, Ratu Matahari

1,3 b

, Sri Sunarti

2,4 c

and Budi Irwansyah

Ph.D. Student in Applied Demography and Social Research, Mahidol University, Thailand

Faculty of Public Health, Universitas Muhammadiyah Kalimantan Timur, Samarinda, Indonesia

Faculty of Public Health, Universitas Ahmad Dahlan, Yogyakarta, Indonesia

Ph.D. Student in Health Sciences, Lincoln University College, Malaysia

Keywords: Children Mortality, Indonesian Census, Brass Method.

Abstract: Child mortality was one indicator of Sustainable Development Goals. Each country has to measure the rate

of child mortality to know the child health situation. In this research, the researcher calculated indirect child

mortality using Indonesian census data in 2010. Children's mortality can be calculated based on children's

information ever born and children surviving. The estimation of children's mortality can be calculated using

the indirect estimation method. The indirect estimation method used Brass Method, which has five steps to

estimate child mortality. The five steps include calculation of average parity per woman, calculation of the

proportion of children dying for each age group of mothers, calculation of multipliers, calculation of

probabilities of dying and of surviving, and calculation of reference period. The analysis revealed that the

probability of children's death increased with the increasing age of the mother. The probability of children

surviving decreases with the rising age of the mother. Increasing the mother's age will increase the number of

children ever born. The probability of dying in children increases with the increasing age mother group. The

probability of surviving children tends to be decreased with the increase in the mother age group. The high

number of children born to older mothers was related to breastfeeding duration and exclusive breastfeeding.

Children who did not receive breastfeeding exclusively will risk dying due to infection. The Indonesian

Government needs to improve its health services for pregnant older women to prevent child mortality.

1 INTRODUCTION

The child mortality rate was an indicator of the

country's welfare, especially regarding health

services access. Children's mortality was caused by

factors, e.g., neonatal factors, healthy pregnant

women, mother workers, culture, and the

environment—the Indonesian Government targets to

end death in those under five of age by the end of

2030. The target can be achieved by preventing the

death of the infant death (Soleman, 2020). Based on

the Demographic Health Survey (IDHS), infant

mortality in Indonesia on 2017 was around 24 deaths

per 1,000 live births. This mortality rate declined

from the previous survey in 2012 that Indonesia's

infant mortality rate of 32 deaths per 1,000 live births.

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However, infant mortality in Indonesia has not yet

reached the Sustainable Development Goals, which

have a standard of 12 infant mortality per 1,000 live

births (Lengkong et al., 2020).

In achieving the Indonesian Government's target,

policymakers require data about the population

condition in the past, the current, and the future

projection, including children's mortality. Children's

mortality can be calculated based on children's

information ever born and children surviving. The

estimation of children's mortality can be estimated

using the indirect method (United Nations, 1983).

This information was beneficial for policymakers in

making the policy. Children's mortality can be

estimated by children ever born and children

surviving from the mother group. Thus, this article

Nugroho, P., Matahari, R., Sunarti, S. and Irwansyah, B.

The Situation of Child Mortality and Parity Classiﬁed by the Age of the Mother in Indonesia.

DOI: 10.5220/0011650100003608

In Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Social Determinants of Health (ICSDH 2022), pages 32-34

ISBN: 978-989-758-621-7; ISSN: 2975-8297

 2023 by SCITEPRESS – Science and Technology Publications, Lda. Under CC license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

will calculate indirect child mortality based on 2010

census data in Indonesia.

2 METHODS

This estimation used the census data in 2010

conducted by the Indonesian Government. The

indirect estimation method was derived from

estimating child mortality using data classified by the

mother's age group. The indirect estimation of child

mortality used Brass Method Model (United Nations,

1983). This method requires three data to estimate

children's mortality, such as children ever born

classified by age group of mothers, children

surviving, and women parity. Thus, this method can

estimate the trend probability of children dying,

probability of children surviving, and average parity

per women.

3 RESULTS

Figure 1 explains that the probability of dying in

children increases with the increasing age mother

group. Female children have a high probability of

dying than male children. Figure 2 explains that the

probability of surviving children tends to be

decreased with the increase in the mother's age.

Figure 3 explains that the average parity per woman

has increased as the mother ages. Male children

dominated in Indonesia based on Census 2010.

Figure 1: Trend probability of dying in Indonesia by

children sex, Census 2010.

Figure 2: Probability of surviving in Indonesia by children

sex, Census 2010.

Figure 3: Average parity per women by children's sex.

4 DISCUSSION

This article calculated the estimated child mortality

from the Indonesian population census in 2010. The

analysis revealed that the probability of children's

death increased with the increasing age of the mother.

The probability of children surviving decreases with

the increasing age of the mother. Increasing the

mother's age will increase the number of children ever

born. The average parity per woman also increases

with the age of the mother.

High parity was a risk factor for increasing deaths

in children caused by breastfeeding duration factors

and poorer nutritional status (Sonneveldt et al., 2013).

Research conducted by Kitano et al. revealed that

-0.050

0.000

0.050

0.100

0.150

0.200

0.250

0.300

25-

30-

Probability of dying

Age gr oup of mother ( year )

Male Female Both sex

0.750

0.800

0.850

0.900

0.950

1.000

1.050

-1

-2

-3

-4

Probability of surviving

Age gr oup of mot her (year )

Male Female Both sex

0.0000

1.0000

2.0000

3.0000

4.0000

5.0000

-1

-24

-29

-34

-3

-44

-49

Aver age par i ty per women

Age gr oup of mother (year )

Male Female Both sex

The Situation of Child Mortality and Parity Classiﬁed by the Age of the Mother in Indonesia

primipara mothers over 35 and parity were associated

with not doing exclusive breastfeeding caused by

working mothers (Kitano et al., 2016). Infants aged 0-

5 months who did not exclusively breastfeed had an

8.66 times higher risk of death caused by infection

than exclusive breastfeeding infants (Sankar et al.,

2015). Breastfeeding was also related to children's

survival; children will be more able to survive if they

get breastfeeding for up to 6 months (Yapo, 2020).

High parity in Indonesia was also related to the

people's belief that 'banyak anak banyak rezeki'

means that if the mother has many children, she will

get wealthier, given by God (Afidah, 2019). This

concept was related to the symbolic concept in

Indonesian culture that children have privileges in the

eyes of religion and society. The concept was

associated with the social exchange theory that many

children get wealth from God. This concept began to

be abandoned in the community because many poor

people with children affect their household income

and spend a lot of money caring for their children.

Poverty will influence household income to buy

healthy food for their children. Thus, children will be

at risk of poorer nutritional status and a higher risk of

death. (Nelson, 2000).

5 CONCLUSION

The indirect estimation method can calculate the

trend probability of children dying, probability of

children surviving, and average parIty per woman.

The probability of dying in children increases with

the increasing age mother group. The probability of

surviving children tends to be decreased with the

increase in the mother's age. In addition, the average

parity per woman has increased as the mother aged.

The Indonesian Government has to concern pregnant

women in older groups through regulation or

intensive programs to prevent children's death.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Our acknowledgment was dedicated to Mahidol

University, Lincoln University College, Universitas

Ahmad Dahlan, and Universitas Muhammadiyah

Kalimantan Timur, supporting our team in writing

this paper. We also thank our lecturer who teaches

this method to calculate children's mortality and

parity in Indonesia.

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