Death of a child

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Death of a child, or death in childhood, or death of children and youth, refers to the death of children and young people over one year of age. Deaths prior to age one are classified as infant deaths. The upper bound for distinguishing between child and adult is culturally mediated, and may range from 13 to 18. Child mortality refers to the collective deaths of humans in this age range. Some classifications of child mortality limit the age range from one to five years of age. [1]

The death of a child is considered one of the greatest tragedies that can be experienced by human beings. [2] When faced with the death of a child, bearing witness and providing comfort to the bereaved are traditional behaviors. [3]

See also

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Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. The remains of a former organism normally begin to decompose shortly after death. Death eventually and inevitably occurs in all organisms. Some organisms, such as Turritopsis dohrnii, are biologically immortal, however they can still die from means other than aging. Death is generally applied to whole organisms; the equivalent for individual components of an organism, such as cells or tissues, is necrosis. Something that is not considered an organism, such as a virus, can be physically destroyed but is not said to die, as a virus is not considered alive in the first place.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Demography</span> Science that deals with populations and their structures, statistically and theoretically

Demography is the statistical study of human populations: their size, composition, and how they change through the interplay of fertility (births), mortality (deaths), and migration.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SIDS</span> Sudden unexplained death of a child who is less than one year of age

Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), sometimes known as cot death, is the sudden unexplained death of a child of less than one year of age. Diagnosis requires that the death remain unexplained even after a thorough autopsy and detailed death scene investigation. SIDS usually occurs during sleep. Typically death occurs between the hours of midnight and 9:00 a.m. There is usually no noise or evidence of struggle. SIDS remains the leading cause of infant mortality in Western countries, constituting half of all post-neonatal deaths.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Infant mortality</span> Death of children under the age of 1

Infant mortality is the death of an infant before the infant's first birthday. The occurrence of infant mortality in a population can be described by the infant mortality rate (IMR), which is the number of deaths of infants under one year of age per 1,000 live births. Similarly, the child mortality rate, also known as the under-five mortality rate, compares the death rate of children up to the age of five.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Infant</span> Very young offspring of humans

An infant or baby is the very young offspring of human beings. Infant is a formal or specialised synonym for the common term baby. The terms may also be used to refer to juveniles of other organisms. A newborn is, in colloquial use, an infant who is only hours, days, or up to one month old. In medical contexts, a newborn or neonate is an infant in the first 28 days after birth; the term applies to premature, full term, and postmature infants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mother</span> Female parent

A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the case of gestational surrogacy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Child</span> Human between birth and puberty

A child (pl. children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. It may also refer to an unborn human being. The legal definition of child generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger than the age of majority. Children generally have fewer rights and responsibilities than adults. They are generally classed as unable to make serious decisions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mortality rate</span> Deaths per 1000 individuals per year

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In demography, demographic transition is a phenomenon and theory which refers to the historical shift from high birth rates and high death rates in societies with minimal technology, education and economic development, to low birth rates and low death rates in societies with advanced technology, education and economic development, as well as the stages between these two scenarios. In economic growth, the demographic transition has swept the world over the past two centuries, and the unprecedented population growth of the post-Malthusian period was reversed, reducing birth rates and population growth significantly in all regions of the world, and enabling economies to translate more of the gains of factor accumulation and technological progress into per capita income growth. The demographic transition strengthens economic growth process by three changes: (i) reduced dilution of capital and land stock, (ii) increased investment in human capital, and (iii) increased size of the labor force relative to the total population and changed age population distribution. Although this shift has occurred in many industrialized countries, the theory and model are frequently imprecise when applied to individual countries due to specific social, political and economic factors affecting particular populations.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maternal death</span> Aspect of human reproduction and medicine

Maternal death or maternal mortality is defined in slightly different ways by several different health organizations. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines maternal death as the death of a pregnant mother due to complications related to pregnancy, underlying conditions worsened by the pregnancy or management of these conditions. This can occur either while she is pregnant or within six weeks of resolution of the pregnancy. The CDC definition of pregnancy-related deaths extends the period of consideration to include one year from the resolution of the pregnancy. Pregnancy associated death, as defined by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), are all deaths occurring within one year of a pregnancy resolution. Identification of pregnancy associated deaths is important for deciding whether or not the pregnancy was a direct or indirect contributing cause of the death.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Total fertility rate</span> Number of children a woman is expected to have barring select circumstances

The Total Fertility Rate (TFR) of a population is the average number of children that are born to a woman over her lifetime if:

  1. they were to experience the exact current age-specific fertility rates (ASFRs) through their lifetime
  2. and they were to live from birth until the end of their reproductive life.
<span class="mw-page-title-main">Child mortality</span> Death rate of infants and young children

Child mortality is the mortality of children under the age of five. The child mortality rate refers to the probability of dying between birth and exactly five years of age expressed per 1,000 live births.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Family</span> Group of related people

Family is a group of people related either by consanguinity or affinity. It forms the basis for social order. The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Ideally, families offer predictability, structure, and safety as members mature and learn to participate in the community. Historically, most human societies use family as the primary purpose of attachment, nurturance, and socialization.

Health in Afghanistan remains poor but steadily improving. It has been negatively affected by the nation's environmental issues and the decades of war since 1978. The Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) oversees all matters concerning the health of the country's residents. The Human Rights Measurement Initiative finds that Afghanistan is fulfilling 72.5% of what it should be fulfilling for the right to health based on its level of income.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Health in Niger</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Health in Brunei</span>

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References

  1. "Child mortality is an everyday tragedy of enormous scale that rarely makes the headlines". Our World in Data. Retrieved 2023-04-13.
  2. Klass, Perri (2021-05-12). "When Children Die: Tragedies in the margins of history". Harper's Magazine. Vol. June 2021. ISSN   0017-789X . Retrieved 2023-04-13.
  3. "When a Child Dies: Cultural Competency in Paediatric Palliative Care, An Educational Resource" (PDF). albertahealthservices.ca. Retrieved 2023-04-13.