Poor Nutrition asa Correlate of Infant Mortality among Mothers in Imo State

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to ascertain poor nutrition as a correlate of infant mortality among mothers in Imo State. Two research questions two hypothesis guided the study. The population consisted of 1,500 women of child bearing age in the fifteen randomly drawn communities of the twenty seven local government areas of Imo State. Structured question was an instrument for data collection. The test-retest reliability using Pearson product moment correlation coefficient was used to obtain a correlation coefficient 0f .79. The analysis was done using inferential statistics of simple linear regression. It was found out that poor infant feeding is a significant correlate of infant mortality since the P=.002 < .05. It was also found that lack of optimal breastfeeding is a significant correlate of infant mortality since P=.003 < .05 alpha level. It is therefore recommended that every nursing mother should appropriately breastfeed their babies; also holistic nutrition education is required.