Monday, August 1, 2011

CDC Report on US Infant Mortality

Again, there is so much work to do.... Below is a report from the Center for Disease Control on the (sad) state of the United States babies health.
Local Care Midwifery, PLLC is working to make the US a better place, one baby at a time.




May all babies be born into loving hands...

 K. Michelle Doyle, CNM, NYS LM
www.localcaremidwifery.com
www.localcaremidwifery.blogspot.com


OFFICEInfant Mortality Statistics from the 2007 Period Linked Birth/Infant Death Data Set                                          
by T.J. Mathews, M.S., and Marian F. MacDorman, Ph.D., Division of Vital Statistics
 
 
 
Abstract
 
Objective: This report presents 2007 period infant mortality statistics from the linked birth/infant death
data set (linked file) by a variety of maternal and infant characteristics. The linked file differs from the
mortality file which is based entirely on death certificate data.
 
Methods: Descriptive tabulations of data are presented and interpreted.
 
Results: The U.S. infant mortality rate was 6.75 infant deaths per 1,000 live births in 2007, not
significantly different than the rate of 6.68 in 2006. Infant mortality rates ranged from 4.57 per 1,000
live births for mothers of Central and South American origin to 13.31 for non-Hispanic black mothers.
Infant mortality rates were higher for those infants who were born in multiple deliveries and for those
whose mothers were born in the 50 States and the District of Columbia and were unmarried. Infant
mortality was also higher for male infants and infants born preterm or at low birthweight. The neonatal
mortality rate was essentially unchanged from 2006 to 2007 (4.46 and 4.42, respectively). The
postneonatal mortality rate increased 5 percent from 2.22 in 2006 to 2.33 in 2007, similar to the rate
in 2005 (2.32). Infants born at the lowest gestational ages and birthweights have a large impact on
overall US infant mortality. For example, more than half (54 percent) of all infant deaths in the US in
2007 occurred to the 2 percent of infants born very preterm (less than 32 weeks of gestation). Still,
infant mortality rates for late preterm infants (34-36 weeks of gestation) were 3.6 times, and those for
early term (37-38 weeks) infants were 1.5 times those for infants born at 39-41 weeks of gestation,
the gestational age with the lowest infant mortality rate. The three leading causes of infant death -
Congenital malformations, low birthweight, and SIDS - accounted for 45 percent of all infant deaths.
The percentage of infant deaths that were “preterm-related” was 36.0 percent in 2007. The preterm
related infant mortality rate for non-Hispanic black mothers was 3.4 times higher, and the rate for
Puerto Rican mothers was 71 percent higher than for non-Hispanic white mothers.


For birth related data requests: births@cdc.gov
 
 

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