INFANT MORTALITY

The infant mortality indicator refers to deaths of infants under one year of age. The number and rate of infant mortality is calculated per 1,000 live births per year.

The infant mortality rate is a widely-used indicator of societal health because it is associated with maternal health, quality of and access to medical care, socioeconomic conditions and public health practices. Improvements in the infant mortality rate may reflect progress in medical technology, hygiene and sanitation systems, economic well-being and the availability and use of both preventive and clinical health services.1 Despite the overall declines in infant mortality since 2002, there remain significant disparities in the rates among Hispanics in Orange County, which remain higher than the overall county rate. In the past, these disparities had been only partially explained by factors such as adequacy and quality of prenatal care.

• In 2016, there were 104 infant deaths in Orange County.

• The infant mortality rate was 1.5 deaths per 1,000 births in 2016, a 64.3% decrease since 2007. This is lower than California’s rate of 4.22 and the United States’ rate of 5.9.3

• L eading causes of infant mortality were congenital anomalies (birth defects) (33.7%), maternal causes 4 (25.6%), other conditions of the perinatal period (18.7%), all other causes (9.4%), and short gestation/low birth weight (9.3%).

• In 2016, disparities among races and ethnicities narrowed. Infant mortality rates (per 1,000 live births) were highest among Hispanic infants (2.2), followed by White (1.6) and Asian (1.4) infants.5

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Note: Rates based on less than five deaths are unstable, and therefore should be interpreted with caution. Black infant mortality rates are not included because the relatively low numbers of Black infant births and deaths in Orange County yield unreliable statistics for annual comparison.

• Congenital Anomalies

• Maternal Causes*

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• All Other Causes

• Short Gestation/Low Birth Weight

• Respiratory Distress Syndrome (RDS)

• Accidents and Adverse Effects

• Pneumonia and Influenza

• Sudden Infant Death

* Maternal Causes includes causes such as hypertension, premature rupture of membranes, malpresentation, placenta previa, alcohol/drug abuse, or other complications of labor and delivery.

Note: There were 104 infant deaths in 2016. Percent of Infant Deaths are rounded to the nearest whole number, therefore, sum does not equal 100.

Source: Orange County Health Care Agency, Orange County Coroner Division.