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Infant Mortality

Infant mortality (the death of an infant during its first year) has dramatically declined over the past 40 years in the U.S. This decline is largely due to medical advances and hospital care of premature infants. Nationally, the leading causes of infant death are birth defects, prematurity/low birth weight, and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).9 During 2002-2004, an average of 254 Oregon infants died per year. Approximately 1 in 4 infant deaths (24.9 percent) was due to birth defects and 1 in 5 (21 percent) was due to prematurity.10 In 2002-2004, Oregons infant mortality rate was nearly 20 percent lower than the 2004 U.S.11 average (5.6 versus 6.8 infant deaths per 1,000 live births, respectively). However, Oregon did not achieve the Healthy People 2010 target of 4.5 infant deaths per 1,000 live births. Although infant mortality in Oregon declined significantly in the early 1990s, there has been no improvement since the mid 1990s. From 1993-2004, infant mortality rates of white and Hispanic mothers have significantly declined. However, only the Hispanic rate has continued to decline since the late 1990s. (Data in Appendix D) Although the rate of infant mortality for black/African Americans declined by one-third from 1993-2004, the improvement was not statistically significant. Infants born to black/African American mothers during 2002-2004 were approximately twice as likely to die within their first year as those born to white or Hispanic mothers (10.4 versus 5.6 and 4.7 infant deaths per 1,000 live births). American Indian/Alaska Natives were the only race/ethnic group to show a significant increase in infant mortality from 1993-1995 to 2002-2004.

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Oregon Perinatal Data Book

Chapter 2: Birth Outcomes


Chapter 1

Infant Mortality Rate, Three-Year Moving Averages, Oregon, 1993-2004


10 9

6.8 6.8 5.6 4.5

chapter 2

Rate per 1,000 Live Births

8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0

chapter 3
1993- 1994- 1995- 1996- 1997- 1998- 1999- 2000- 2001- 2002- 2004 U.S. HP 2010 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 Average Target

chapter 4

Data Source: Oregon Vital Statistics (Vista PHw)

Infant Mortality Rate by Race/Ethnicity, Three-Year Average, Oregon, 1993-1995 & 2002-2004
18 16 15.5

appendices

Rate per 1,000 Live Births

14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 6.9 5.6 10.4 11.5

REFERENCES

6.1 4.1

5.4

5.8 4.7

6.8 5.6

White

Black/ American Indian/ Asian/ African American Alaska Native Paci c Islander 1993-1995 2002-2004

Hispanic

Overall

Data Source: Oregon Vital Statistics (Vista PHw)

Oregon Perinatal Data Book

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