Birth interval, mortality and growth of children in a rural area in Kenya

This paper analyses the impact of the length of birth intervals on mortality and growth of young children. An attempt has been made to improve the methodology of birth interval studies and the results of an analysis of longitudinal data from a rural area in Kenya with a relatively favourable level of health are presented. It is shown that children with short retrospective or short prospective birth intervals do not run a higher risk of mortality or growth retardation than children with longer intervals, neither during the perinatal period nor during the first 2 years of life. This suggests that the socioeconomic setting, in which a birth interval study is carried out, is of ultimate importance.