I-Search+by+Lydia

by Lydia I don't know that much about infant mortality except that it's a really big problem that effects many people in India. I happen to be very interested in Indian culture for some reason although I'm not one bit Indian. I know most of the stories and Indian Hindu gods, I own a sari myself, I'm in love with Bollywood music and mango lassi's are one of my favorite drinks. I have read many books with settings or characters from India and watched movies about India. I know that the country of India has some big problems like many other countries and I thought learning some of India's problems could add to my cultural knowledge of this amazing country.
 * Children Are Dying in India!?! **
 * Part I--What I already know about my topic **

Infant Mortality is basically when infants die in a short amount of time after they were born. There are two components of Infant Mortality which is neonatal or post-neonatal. Neonatal is when the infant dies within 28 days after birth. And post-neonatal is when the infant dies after 28 days after birth. There are many causes of infant mortality which are mostly serious diseases they suffer from or their mother suffers from. But there are many programs and charities that are trying to solve and help with this problem.

What kinds of serious diseases do the infants and mothers suffer from which makes them die? Which programs and charities are helping to solve this problem? What were the rates of deaths of infants in the last 5 years? Is the rates of infant mortality increasing or decreasing? What other countries have a high infant mortality? What can I do to help? Are there certain parts of India that have the highest infant mortality rates? Why is India the country with the highest infant mortality? Could the US be affected by infant mortality?
 * Part II--What I Want to Find Out **

After an hour of web surfing on websites about infant mortality in India I found an article/source. The article was "Infant Mortality High in India: UNICEF" by a woman named Seemi Pasha. This article was found on the website of http://ibnlive.in.com/news/infant-mortality-high-in-india-unicef/63880-3.html This was an important source because it talked about what was being done to help solve the problem of Infant Mortality in India. "UNICEF says that the problem of malnutrition and infant and maternal mortality can be solved if it is addressed at the ground level in villages and districts." The program, UNICEF, is trying to send more people to care and look out for the children and mothers of India. The mothers will be given professional doctors to help them deliver their babies and helping as much as we can to the fullest.
 * Part III--The Search **

I have continued playing the "Hurricane Katrina" game which is a global issue game about a girl being her own hero and saving the survivors of the Hurricane Katrina. She is trying to find her mother who is helping some many people by bringing flashlights, first aid kits, drinking water and pulling people out onto roofs so they don't drown in their house. After playing this game I am starting to think of possible types of games I could make for my infant mortality in India game. I thought that maybe my game could be similar to the Katrina game and instead the character is a UNICEF worker that has to save the kids in India. You lose points if a child labor master steals one of the kids you have saved and you get health points if some one makes a donation to this cause.

I have been reading an article in Wikipedia about infant mortality in general and how this issue is spread throughout all parts of the world. ([]) The most common causes of infant mortality is dehydration from diarrhea and pneumonia.Other causes are neglect, infection, malaria, SIDs, congenital malformation, malnutrition and child abuse. But a simple treatment of dehydration is being spread across the world, decreasing the number of dead children who have died from dehydration. This treatment is Oral Rehydration Therapy (ORT) which is basically water, salts and sugars combined. The infant mortality rate is decreasing and increasing in different parts of the world.

I am skimming through the book "In Spite of the Gods: The Rise of India" by Edward Luce. This book is about how the two different worlds and cultures are colliding together in India. The old world of India where the ancient culture and religion is very important and has been followed for many years. And the new world of India with new businesses, technology and economics. India's population is growing rapidly and it is at the center of the economic world. I could not find any books about the specific topic of infant mortality in India but I decided to get a book on the environment of India because where the child is growing up really effects his or her life. So far I have found out that as lots of businesses are growing, they need more people so they use children to work. Child labor is another cause of child mortality because they are abused and forced to work in unhealthy areas.

Today I researched the specific rates of infant mortality in India for the last few days. I have been lead to a website about the India Infant Mortality Rate that has a series of graphs that show how many infants have died in the past few years from 2003 to 2010. After looking at the results I have come to a conclusion that from 2003-2006 there were many deaths but were slowly decreasing. In 2007 the death rate dropped dramatically and stayed in the 30s deaths per 1,000 births. But in 2010, the deaths jumped back up to 51 deaths per 1,000 births.

**Part IV--What I Learned** After completing this iSearch project I have learned about a lot of information about India, infant mortality, types of games and people trying to help global issues around the world. I have learned that infant mortality is caused from dehydration from diarrhea, neglect, pneumonia, infection, malaria, SIDs, congenital malformation, malnutrition and child abuse. The rates of infant mortality in India has been decreasing over the years but has jumped back up in year 2010. Organizations that are trying to solve this issue is UNICEF who is trying to spread the world that the mothers and children in India need help and anyone can help by donating money, clothes, medical supplies and etc. UNICEF are placing the mothers in safe environments and giving them real professional doctors to help them give birth so there will be a safe baby in an safe environment. Also a new medicine has been found that solves the dehydration problem that has been affecting so many children. 

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/infant-mortality-high-in-india-unicef/63880-3.html [] http://www.indexmundi.com/india/infant_mortality_rate.html
 * Works Cited:**