Magister Philosophiae - MPhil / Infants and under 5 mortality have been universally researched and it reduction by twothird by 2015 has been announced as one of the millennium development goal of the United Nation. Continuous monitoring in form of studies on mothers related factors that determines infant, child and under 5 mortality appears to be a step towards achieving this goal. Therefore using the Eastern Cape Province as a case study, this study utilises the secondary data of the 1998 South Africa Demographic and Health Survey (SADHS) dataset for children to examine some specific mothers related socioeconomic and demographic determinants of infant and child mortality. As at the time this study is being conducted the SADHS 2003 survey datasets are not available. However, reports that summarize the survey and some preliminary results are available. In this study, infant and child mortality have been grouped into 0-12 months and 13-60 months age at death,which is taken as independent variable. Profiles of the distributions of the dependent and the independent variables are described with the aid of cross tabulation. Demographic factors examined include the age of the mother at the time of delivery, order of birth and birth interval, while the socioeconomic factors examined include working status of the mother, mother‟s work place (at home work at home or away) mothers‟ education level , and the place of residence. We found that demographic variables such as age of mothers at first birth, birth order, birth interval, and socioeconomic factors such as mothers‟ education level, and the place of birth, have a significant effect on the probability of child‟s survival. Therefore, the postponement of the female age at birth with an appropriate child spacing, nonetheless, the improvement mother‟s education will enhance the reduction of infant and child mortality. Steps that may be taken towards improving the health status of infant and child, including ways by which infant and child mortality may be reduced are recommended.

The objective of this study is to investigate the trends in relative contribution each selected factor makes to the chance of a child’s death over time in South Africa for children born 5 years preceding 1997 and 5 years preceding 2002. Attention was paid to the role played by socio-economic factors, biological and maternal factors, environmental factors, nutrient deficiency factors and health seeking behaviour factors. The study investigates whether the association of a specific factor to under-5 mortality persist over time. Data from the 1997 October Household Survey and the 2002 General Household Survey were used. Births that occurred in the five years preceding each survey were analysed in relation to the survival of the child and socio-economic factors, biological and maternal factors, environmental factors, nutrient deficiency factors and health seeking behaviour factors. Logistic regression was used to determine the relative contribution of each factor for the two periods under review. Under-5 mortality was significantly associated with eight factors during 1993-1997 period namely; mother’s education, mother’s place of residence, sex, birth order, birth interval, mother’s age at the time of delivery of the subject child, nutrient deficiency and place of delivery. However, during the 1998-2002 period only five factors were significantly associated with under-5 mortality. These were mother’s education, sex, birth interval, type of dwelling and place of delivery. This suggests changing patterns in factors associated with under-5 mortality between the two birth cohorts: 1993-1997 and the 1998-2002 birth cohorts. / Dissertation (MSocSci)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Sociology / unrestricted