Does antenatal and post-natal program reduce infant mortality? A meta-analytical review on 24 developing countries based on Demographic and Health Survey data

Objective: This study intended to reveal the effectiveness of Antenatal Care (ANC) and Postnatal care (PNC) services on infant mortality in 24 developing countries by utilizing the recent Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) data. Design: This study utilized the most recent DHS data from 2013 to 2019 of 24 different developing countries. Meta-analysis techniques were was implemented to congregate cross-sectional studies to integrate data from 24 countries to fulfill the study's objective. ParticipantsChildren's Recode (KR) data was used as this study is based on infants aged 0-11 months. Results: Results of this study uncovered for 24 developing countries that taking ANC and PNC had a statistically significant association in lowering infant death. These two covariates were found to significantly impact all 24 developing countries' infant mortality (OR: 0.356, 95% CI: 0.311; 0.407 for taking ANC and OR: 0.302, 95% CI: 0.243; 0.375 for taking PNC). Additionally, taking ANC was more effective in Asian countries, while taking PNC was more effective for African countries. Conclusion: In this study, taking ANC and PNC services was significant in reducing the risk of infant mortality in developing countries. So, anticipation and advancement in health care services ought to be taken to lessen the chance of infant mortality.