Child mortality and society in Morocco

Multivariate (correspondence) analysis is employed to identify socioeconomic factors affecting fertility and infant mortality in Marrakesh (Morocco), using questionnaire data from some 3000 women attending 20 dispensaries in different parts of the city. The survey was conducted in January 1982. Data were collected on age, age at marriage, menopause, monogamy or polygyny, total number of children born, number of miscarriages, number of stillbirths, number of children currently living, and contraception. Factors of the material environment (availability of water and electricity in the residence), size of a household and number of wage earners in it are pervasive and suggest a polarity between archaic elements in the society (low material comfort, polygyny, absence of contraception) and the more forward looking (monogamy, tertiary occupations). Monogamy is among the factors of a satisfactory material environment. Polygyny, on the other hand, tends to be located towards poorer material comfort, the absence of electricity and running water from the house. Fertility and child mortality variations reflect the apparent polarity. The differences that occur among the 20 dispensaries direct attention to the neighborhoods where public health measures may be expected to be most effective and rewarding. Material comfort is strongly associated with the use of a contraceptive method. There is also a strong association between the absence of material comfort, the absence of contraception, and the highest mortality rate. The 2 highest fertility classes are strongly associated with the higher mortality rates.