Determinants of infant mortality in Turkey

Nutiye Seckin, Middle East Technical University
Murat G. Kirdar, Middle East Technical University

Infant mortality rate in Turkey has dropped from 67 to 21 per 1000 live births in 17 years from 1990 to 2007; however, it remains much higher than those in developed countries. Moreover, the high rate of infant mortality contradicts with certain other demographic and socio-economic indicators of the country. This paper examines the regional, household and individual level characteristics that are associated with infant mortality in Turkey. The data come from 2003 Turkish Demographic and Health Survey. In the estimation, duration analysis methodology is used. The results of the study show that breastfeeding, maternal age-at-birth, place of delivery, and prenatal care are strongly correlated with infant mortality risk. At the same time, the association of these variables with infant mortality exhibit important differences according to family wealth and the child’s age in months. For instance, a longer duration of prenatal care is associated with a higher chance of survival at all periods during infancy but not with chance of survival at birth.