Table 1.

Comparison of demographic characteristics of 453 neonatal deaths with those of the general population, Niger, 2007–2010

	Neonatal deaths			Comparison data*
Characteristic	N	%, mean or median	(Q1, Q3)	N	%, mean or median	(Q1,Q3)	χ2	P–value
Sex:
Male	263	58.1		8360	50.8		9.3	0.002
Female	190	41.9		8082	49.2
Birth order:
1	114	25.3		2317	14.1		44.3	<0.001
2–3	92	20.4		4878	29.7
4+	245	54.3		9212	56.2
Mother’s age at first marriage:†
Median age (years)	425	15.0	(15, 17)	8938	15.0	(14, 17)
Mother’s age at birth of index child:
<20	101	22.8		2559	15.7		16.3	<0.001
20–24	121	27.2		4112	25.2
25–29	97	22.0		4302	26.4
30+	124	28.0		5338	32.7
Mean age (years)	443	25.6	(20, 31)	16 312	26.9	(21, 31)
Mother’s age at first birth:
<15	41	9.2		1190	7.4
15–19	273	61.8		9400	58.8
20+	128	29.0		5409	33.8		4.5	0.034
Mean age (years)	442	18.4	(16, 20)	15 999	18.7	(16, 20)
Mother’s education:
None	386	86.6		13 521	82.7		4.7	0.030
Primary	47	10.6		1890	11.6
Secondary+	13	2.9		948	5.8
Median years	446	0.0	(0, 0)	16 359	1.0	(1, 2)
Father’s education:
None	369	84.7		–	–
Primary	46	10.6		–	–
Secondary+	20	4.7		–	–
Median years	434	0.0	(0, 0)	–	–
Residence:
Urban	44	9.7		2994	18.2
Rural	409	90.3		13 450	81.8		21.5	<0.001
Travel time (min) to usual health facility:
<30	167	39.2		–	–
30–59	54	12.6		–	–
60+	206	48.3		–	–
Median minutes	427	40.0	(10, 120)	–	–

*Unless otherwise noted, comparison data are for surviving children who were their mother’s most recent birth in 2007–2010 and for their families from the 2010 Niger National Mortality Survey.

†VASA and comparison data are for ever–married women 20–49 years old at the time of the survey. The comparison data are from the 2012 Niger Demographic and Health Survey.