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Show Women's and Children's Health Infant Mortality Compiled by Jennifer Sargent Utah Infant Deaths 2001: 232 Infant mortality is defined as the number of deaths of individuals younger than one year of age, per 1,000 live births. The main causes of infant deaths include birth defects, disorders relating to short gestation. Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SEDS), and unspecified infant death. Infant mortality is an important measure of overall health status because it reflects the overall state of maternal health, as well as the quality and accessibility of primary health care for pregnant women and infants. During the past seventeen years, the infant mortality rate has steadily declined in Utah and across the nation (Table 1). Despite this decline, the problem of infant mortality remains substantial, especially in the frontier regions of the state, where the infant mortality rate was 6.7 in 2001. Programs targeted at reducing infant mortality concentrate on promoting better prenatal care, improving care of high-risk pregnancies and high-risk infants, and educating prenatal care providers to help their clients quit smoking (a leading cause of low birth weight). In Utah, the "Back to Sleep" campaign is designed to educate parents on sleeping habits in order to reduce the incidence of SIDS. Table 1. Infant Mortality per 1,000 live births, Utah and U.S., 1985-1999. Incidence (pen,ooo) Year Utah U.S. Utah:U.S. 1985 9.6 10.6 0.91 1986 8.5 10.4 0.82 1987 8.8 10.1 0.87 1988 8.0 10.0 0.80 1989 8.0 9.8 0.82 1990 7.4 9.2 0.80 1991 6.2 8.9 0.70 1992 5.9 8.5 0.69 1993 6.0 8.4 0.71 1994 6.1 8.0 0.76 1995 5.2 7.6 0.68 1996 5.9 7.3 0.81 1997 5.8 7.2 0.81 1998 5.7 7.2 0.79 1999 4.8 7.1 0.68 2000 5.2 6.9 0.75 2001 4.8 6.9 0.70 Sources: Utah 1985-2001: Utah Department of Health Center for Health Data. Utah's Vital Statistics: Births and Deaths 2001. Technical Report No. 219, 9 October, 2002. U.S. 1999-2000: National Center for Health Statistics. National Vital Statistics Report Vol. 50 Num. 12 August 28, 2002. [Online] h nchs/. Retrieved 2/17/03 Utah's Health: An Annual Review Volume DC 103 |
