Causecast

by KAREN MURPHY, Contributing Writer

Infant mortality is described as the death of an infant under one year of age, and the infant mortality rate (the number of deaths of infants under one year old in a given year per 1,000 live births in the same year) is often used as a yardstick to compare the health and well-being of populations across and within countries. Here are ten things you should know about infant mortality:

1. Every year, two million babies die worldwide within their first day of life.

2. Two million more babies die worldwide each year within the first month of life.

3. The worst infant mortality rates are among many of the world’s least-developed or least-stable nations, both politically and economically. The ten worst: Angola (18%), Sierra Leone (15.5%), Afghanistan (15.2%), Liberia (13.8%), Niger (11.6%), Somalia (10.9%), Mozambique (10.5%), Mali (10.2%), Zambia (10.1%), Guinea-Bissau (9.9%).

4. The best rates worldwide are among an interesting mix of developed countries. The ten best: Singapore (.2%), Bermuda (.2%), Sweden (.2%), Japan (.2%), Hong Kong (.3%), Macau (.3%), Iceland (.3%), France (.3%), Finland (.3%), Anguilla (.3%).

5. Worldwide, causes of infant mortality are mainly related to a lack of clean water and inadequate medical care. More specifically, the deaths are caused by communicable childhood diseases, diarrheal diseases and gastroenteritis from poor sanitation, pneumonia and other respiratory diseases, an environment infested with the parasites that cause malaria and other debilitating diseases, and the triangle of poverty, malnutrition, and lack of medical supervision.

6. Among industrialized nations, the U.S. has the second worst infant mortality rate. The main causes in the U.S. of infant mortality are congenital malformations, deformations, and chromosomal abnormalities; disorders related to short gestation and low birth weight; sudden infant death syndrome; maternal complications of pregnancy; respiratory distress of newborn.

7. For African-Americans, the mortality rate is nearly double that of the United States as a whole, with 9.3 deaths per 1,000 births.

8. Babies born to obese mothers are at an increased risk for dying, especially within the first two weeks of life.

9. The high U.S. rate is somewhat skewed due to a wider definition of “live birth” compared to other countries, but the incidence of preterm, low birthweight babies requiring NICU care is troubling, especially considering that better prenatal care as well as smoking cessation programs could be more effective than expensive NICU care.

10. Supporting projects worldwide that help provide access to clean water and prevent malnutrition is the easiest way to have a positive impact on worldwide infant mortality. In the short term, you can help stop infant mortality in Afghanistan by supporting a Global Giving project that will help 12,000 Afghan women access pre- and post-natal care, protecting their health during pregnancy and delivery.

Photo by ECohen, flickr