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INFANT MORTALITY

Description Of Indicator

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.

Why is this indicator important?

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 racial 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.

Findings

• In 2017, there were 116 infant deaths in Orange County.

• The infant mortality rate was 3.1 deaths per 1,000 births in 2017, a 35.4% decrease since 2008. This rate is lower than California’s rate of 4.22 and the United States’ rate of 5.8.3 However, this rate is an increase of 107% increase from 2016 (1.5).

• Leading causes of infant mortality were congenital anomalies (birth defects) (29.3%), maternal causes4 (21.7), other conditions of the perinatal period (13.9%), all other causes (7.0%) and short gestation/low birth weight (6.9%).

• In 2017, disparities among races and ethnicities widened. Infant mortality rates (per 1,000 live births) were highest among Hispanic infants (5.6), followed by Asian (3.1) and White (2.7).

Infant Mortality Rate per 1,000

Live Births, Orange County and California, 2008 to 2017

• Orange County

• White

• Hispanic

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.

Percent of Infant Deaths, by Cause, 2017

• Congenital Anomalies

• Maternal Causes*

• All Other Causes

• Other Conditions of Perinatal Period

• Short Gestation/Low Birth Weight

• Sudden, Unexpected Infant Death (SUID)**

• Respiratory Distress Syndrome (RDS)

• Accidents and Adverse Effects

• Pneumonia and Influenza (0.0%)

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

**Beginning 2017, SIDS cases will be categorized within SUID. Only one case of SIDS has been formerly reported in the past 10 years, in 2012.

Note: Due to rounding percentages may not add up to 100.

Source: County of Orange Health Care Agency.

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