Impact of Salinity on Infant and Neonatal Mortality in Bangladesh
In this paper, the impact of salinity on maternal and child health in Bangladesh is analyzed using data from the Bangladesh Demographic Health Surveys. A U-shaped association between drinking water salinity and infant and neonatal mortality is foun...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Working Paper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2019
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/114051573759272009/Impact-of-Salinity-on-Infant-and-Neonatal-Mortality-in-Bangladesh http://hdl.handle.net/10986/32667 |
| Summary: | In this paper, the impact of salinity on
maternal and child health in Bangladesh is analyzed using
data from the Bangladesh Demographic Health Surveys. A
U-shaped association between drinking water salinity and
infant and neonatal mortality is found, suggesting higher
mortality when salinity is very low or high. With fresh
drinking water, the marginal effect of salinity measured by
groundwater electricity conductivity on infant death is
always negative. With brackish drinking water and slightly
saline water, the negative effect is small. As drinking
water becomes moderately saline, the predicted probability
of infant death starts to increase, and the marginal effect
becomes and remains positive. The relationship between
drinking water salinity and neonatal death shows a similar
pattern. Finally, freshwater with very low concentration of
healthy minerals and severely saline water with very high
detrimental sodium can be harmful for infant and neonatal
health during pregnancy. Severe salinity needs to be
addressed if the recent gains in infant and neonatal
mortality are to be sustained, especially in the coastal
areas of Bangladesh. |
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