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  • Title: [Kinship systems, a factor in mortality in Africa].
    Author: Kikhela N.
    Journal: Ann IFORD; 1988 Dec; 12(2):7-21. PubMed ID: 12178518.
    Abstract:
    This article proposes to verify whether it is patrilineal or matrilineal lineage or neither that is responsible for the high incidence of mortality in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) by using neonatal mortality as an indicator. Neonatal mortality rates are estimated at 50% in SSA. This study used 1981-82 survey data from Kinshasa and results from the World Fertility Surveys (WFS) of Cameroon, Kenya and Ghana. 2 hypothesis were used: 1) there are higher mortality rates in matrilineal families because mothers shorten the intervals between births; and 2) there are lower mortality rates in patrilineal families because husbands interest in increasing his clan motivates him to provide the financial means to assure that the mother is medically followed during the pregnancy. The methodology for the study included studying all live birth charts 5 years before this study from WFS in Kenya, Ghana and Cameroon and included characteristics of mothers. Limitations included infants of mothers living in rural areas only. The Kinshasa survey data provided information on infant mortality rates and data on pregnant women. To eliminate urban bias, women who lived in cities for 10 years were selected. Both hypothesis were rejected; the 1st one found no difference between women getting pregnant in 18 months intervals between pregnancies and those who waited over 47 months. A large proportion of matrilineal women had experienced neonatal mortality; the 2nd study used father's educational level to measure if it made a difference in women attending at least 4 pre-natal visits. The analysis on the Kinshasa women demonstrated that they attended more than 4 pre-natal consultations than the matrilineal women. Among urban women and based on results of the WFS data there is a correlation with higher infant mortality rates among matrilineal families. An example includes a father's preference for his sister's children over his own. This same factor applies to infant mortality rates. Recommendations of the study are that IEC programs in SSA need to also include the men, and especially men in the rural areas.
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