Background: World Health Organization recommends exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) for the first 6 months of life. EBF has sustainable long-term health benefits for both infants and mothers. Despite its benefits, the practice of EBF in Ethiopia is lower than the internationally recommended one. This study aimed at identifying factors influencing EBF practice among under-6 month infants in Ethiopia. Methods: This study used data drawn from the 2019 Ethiopian Mini Demographic and Health Survey (2019 EMDHS) data. A multivariable logistic regression model was employed to investigate factors significantly associated with EBF practice among under-6 month infants in Ethiopia. An adjusted odds ratio with 95% confidence interval was used to measure the association of factors with EBF practice. Results: A total of 566 infants under the age of 6 months were included in the study. The prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding practice was 83% (95% CI: 79.70–86%). Urban residences (AOR: 0.40, 95% CI: 0.22–0.73), mothers having secondary education (AOR: 1.54, 95% CI: 1.29–1.84) and higher education (AOR: 3.18, 95% CI: 0.68–15.02), mothers having ANC visits of 1 to 3 times (AOR: 1.52, 95% CI: 1.24–1.88) and ANC visits of 4 and more times (AOR: 4.27, 95% CI: 1.06–17.25), family size of more than 5 (AOR: 0.45, 95% CI: 0.26–0.88), caesarean births (AOR: 0.63, 95% CI: 0.42–0.95), and deliveries at health facilities (AOR: 2.51, 95% CI: 1.12–5.63) were factors significantly associated with EBF practice among under-6 month infants. Conclusion: In this study, EBF practice among under-6 month infants was significantly associated with place of residence, maternal educational level, ANC visits, family size, mode of delivery, and place of delivery. Therefore, encouraging ANC visit and promotion of institutional (health facility) delivery are recommended. Furthermore, special attention has to be given to mothers with no or less education to make them better aware of the EBF and its benefits to enhance exclusive breastfeeding practice.

Background: Child mortality is a key indicator of the performance of the health system of a nation. Impressive progress in the reduction of under-five mortality has been made in Ethiopia. However, still there are some regions where the under-five mortality rates are high. Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples’ Region (SNNPR) is among those regions in Ethiopia with high under-five mortality rates. This study aimed to identify the determinant factors of under-five mortality in SNNPR. Methods: Data used for the study were drawn from the 2016 EDHS. A total of 1277 under-five children were included in the study. A multivariable logistic regression model was fitted to identify determinant factors associated with under-five mortality. Results: Children with second or third birth order (OR = 1.316, 95% CI: (1.097, 2.343)), fourth or fifth birth order (OR = 1.934, 95% CI: (1.678, 3.822)), sixth or above birth order (OR = 3.980, 95% CI: (2.352, 6.734)) were significantly associated with increased risk of under-five mortality as compared to those with first birth order. Increased risk of under-five mortality was also significantly associated with a family size of five or more (OR = 3.397, 95% CI: (1.702, 6.782)) as compared to the family size of less than five; smaller size at birth (OR = 1.714, 95% CI: (1.120, 2.623)) as compared to larger size at birth; multiple births (OR = 1.472, 95% CI: (1.289, 2.746)) as compared to singletons. On the other hand, female children (OR = 0.552, 95% CI: (0.327, 0.932)), children born at health institutions (OR = 0.449, 95% CI: (0.228, 0.681)) and children who were breastfed (OR = 0.657, 95% CI: (0.393, 0.864)) were significantly associated with decreased risk of under-five mortality as compared to male children, those born at home and those who were not breastfed respectively. Conclusions: Sex of a child, birth order, size of a child at birth, place of delivery, birth type, breastfeeding status, and family size were significant factors associated with under-five mortality in SNNPR, Ethiopia. Thus, planning and implementing relevant strategies that focus on those identified determinant factors of under-five mortality is required for the improvement of child survival in SNNPR, Ethiopia.

Despite the global reduction in under-five mortality, still many children die before their fifth birthday in Ethiopia. The main aim of this study was to identify determinants of under-five mortality using count data regression models based on 2019 Ethiopia mini demography and health survey data. The data source for this study was the 2019 Ethiopia mini demography and health survey data. Various count data regression models were applied to identify the determinants of under-five mortality. A total of 5,535 mothers with children aged 0–59 months were included in the study. Of the total, 1,277 (23.07%) women had lost at least one child by death before celebrating fifth birthday. Zero-Inflated Poisson model was found to be the best model, and it revealed that mother's age, marital status, mother's age at 1st birth, place of delivery, current contraceptive type used, type of cooking fuel, residence, region, religion, time to get drinking water, number of children at home, birth order, and birth type were significant factors that determine U5 mortality in Ethiopia. Mothers aged 15–24 years (IRR = 1.24, p = 0.007) and above 24 years (IRR = 1.66, p = 0.000) at their 1st births, mothers from rural area (IRR = 1.27, p = 0.000), mothers traveled for 1–30 min (IRR = 1.62, p = 0.000) and >30 min (IRR = 1.82, p = 0.000) to get drinking water, mothers used charcoal (IRR = 1.86, p = 0.009) and wood (IRR = 1.64, p = 0.033), children with birth order of 2nd-3rd (IRR = 3.91, p = 0.000), 4th -5th (IRR = 13.14, p = 0.000), 5th and above (IRR = 38.17, p = 0.000), and multiple born children (IRR = 1.5, p = 0.000) had higher risk of under-five mortality while mothers aged 25–34 years (IRR = 0.73, p = 0.000), unmarried mothers (IRR = 0.68, p = 0.004), mothers delivered in public health sectors (IRR = 0.59, p = 0.000), mothers used Pill/IUD (IRR = 0.64, p = 0.018), mothers who had 3 to 5 (IRR = 0.51, p = 0.000) and more than 5 (IRR = 0.27, p = 0.000) children at home had lower risk of under-five mortality. Mothers should be encouraged to deliver at health institutions. Mothers also should be given awareness to use Pill/IUD contraceptive type. Moreover, facilitating rural areas to get electricity and drinking water near to homes helps to reduce the burden of U5M and to be in line with sustainable development goal.

Introduction: Infant mortality is one of the commonest health-related indicators used to assess the health status of the community. Children born in Sub-Saharan Africa are at highest risk of infancy death in the world. Ethiopia, in Sub-Saharan Africa, is a country with high infant mortality. Oromia region is among the regions with high infant mortality rate in Ethiopia. Therefore, this study aimed to identify determinants of infant mortality in Oromia region, Ethiopia. Methods: The source of data for this study was 2019 Ethiopian Mini Demographic and Health Survey. Multivariable logistic regression model was employed to identify the determinants the infant mortality. An adjusted odds ratio (OR) with a 95% CI was used examine the determinants of infant mortality. Results: A total of 719 live births born 5 years preceding the survey were included. The infant mortality rate in the study area was 54 deaths per 1000 live births. The risk of dying in infancy was lower for females [adjusted OR (AOR): 0.518, 95% CI: 0.284, 0.945], health deliveries (AOR: 0.429, 95% CI: 0.235, 0.783), infants born to mothers attended ANC during pregnancy (AOR: 0.603, 95% CI: 0.489, 0.744), infants from families with wealth indices of medium (AOR: 0.715, 95% CI: 0.580, 0.882) and rich (AOR: 0.638, 95% CI: 0.425, 0.958) compared with the respective reference categories while it was higher for infants of multiple births (AOR: 2.241, 95% CI: 1.768, 2.841) compared with singletons. Conclusions: Infant mortality rate in the study area, Oromia region, is higher than the national figure. The study found that sex of child, birth type, antenatal care (ANC), place of delivery and wealth index of household were significant determinants of infant mortality. Therefore, concerned bodies should make awareness creation to mothers regarding ANC and encourage them to have ANC follow-up during pregnancy and deliver at health institution to improve the infant survival in the region.

Introduction: Early neonatal death, which occurs during the prenatal period, is defined as the death of a newborn between 0 and 7 days after birth. It is one of the major public health problems in several developing countries. This study aimed to determine the early neonatal mortality rate and identify determinants of early neonatal mortality in Somalia region of Ethiopia. Methods: The data used for this study were drawn from the 2019 Ethiopia Mini Demographic and Health Survey (2019 EMDHS) data. A multivariable logistic regression model was used to identify the determinants of early neonatal mortality. Adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with 95% CI was used to examine the association of factors with early neonatal mortality. Results: A total of 637 live births were included in this study. The early neonatal mortality rate in the study was 44 (95% CI: 31, 65) deaths per 1000 live births. Male babies (AOR: 1.628; 95% CI: 1.152–4.895), babies delivered at home (AOR: 2.288; 95% CI: 1.194–6.593), and babies born from uneducated mothers (AOR: 2.130; 95% CI: 1.744–6.100) were at increased risk of death in the first 7 days of life after birth. Contrarily, decreased risk of death of babies in the first 7 days of life after birth was associated with urban residence (AOR: 0.669; 95% CI: 0.033–0.721) and singleton (AOR: 0.345; 95% CI: 0.070–0.609). Conclusion: The early neonatal mortality rate in the region was high. The study revealed that sex of child, place of residence, birth type, mother’s educational level, and place of delivery were the determinants of the death of babies in the first 7 days of life after birth. Hence, providing health education to uneducated mothers and enhancing institutional delivery is recommended to minimize the early neonatal mortality rate in the region.

Introduction: The rate of mortality during the perinatal period is higher than at any other time in a person’s life, making it the most vulnerable. This study aimed to examine regional heterogeneity and the determinants of perinatal mortality in Ethiopia. Methods: The data for this study was obtained from the 2019 Ethiopia Demographic and Health Survey (2019 EMDHS) data. Logistic regression modeling and multilevel logistic modeling were used for data analysis. Results: A total of 5753 live birth children were included in this study. Of the total live births, 220 (3.8%) died in the first 7 days of life. Urban residence [adjusted odds ratio (AOR)=0.621; 95% CI: 0.453–0.850], residence in Addis Ababa (AOR=0.141; 95% CI: 0.090–0.220), family size of four or less (AOR=0.761; 95% CI: 0.608–0.952), age of mother at first birth of less than 20 years (AOR=0.728; 95% CI: 0.548–0.966), and using contraceptives (AOR=0.597; 95% CI: 0.438–0.814) were associated with lower risk of perinatal mortality compared to the respective reference categories whereas residence in Afar (AOR=2.259; 95% CI: 1.235–4.132), residence in Gambela (AOR=2.352; 95% CI: 1.328–4.167), no education (AOR=1.232; 95% CI: 1.065–1.572), poor wealth index (AOR=1.670; 95% CI: 1.172–2.380), and wealth index (AOR=1.648; 95% CI: 1.174–2.314) were associated with higher risk of perinatal mortality compared to the respective reference categories. Conclusion: In this study, the overall prenatal mortality rate was 38 (95% CI: 33–44) deaths per 1000 live births, which is high in magnitude. The study identified place of residence, region, wealth index, age of the mother at first birth, educational level of the mother, family size, and use of contraceptive methods as significant determinants of perinatal mortality in Ethiopia. Thus, mothers with no education should be given health education. Women should also be given awareness regarding the use of contraceptives. In addition, further research needs to be conducted in each region separately and information made available at the disaggregate level.