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Last Reviewed:
June 5, 2007
Content Source:
Office of Minority Health & Health Disparities (OMHD) |
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Eliminate Disparities
in Infant Mortality
What is the Burden of Infant Mortality?
Infant
mortality is used to compare the health and well-being of populations
across and within countries. The infant mortality rate, the rate at which
babies less than one year of age die, has continued to steadily decline over the past
several decades, from 26.0 per 1,000 live births in 1960 to 6.9 per 1,000 live
births in 2000. The United States
ranked 28th in the world in infant mortality in
1998.1 This ranking is due in large part to disparities
which continue to exist among
various racial and ethnic groups in this country, particularly African
Americans.2
Examples of Important Disparities
Infant mortality among African Americans in 2000
occurred at a rate
of 14.1 deaths
per 1,000 live births.2 This is
more than twice the national average of 6.9 deaths
per 1,000 live births. The leading causes of infant death include
congenital abnormalities, pre-term/low birth weight, Sudden
Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), problems related to complications of pregnancy,
and respiratory distress syndrome.3 SIDS deaths among American Indian and Alaska
Natives is 2.3 times the
rate for non-Hispanic white mothers.4
What is the Goal?
By the year 2010, the goal is to eliminate disparities among
racial and ethnic
groups with infant mortality rates above the national average, including
American Indian, Alaska Native, and Puerto Rican populations. Public health
agencies will also continue to monitor infant mortality trends for all racial
and ethnic groups.
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Promising
Strategies
Focus on modifying the behaviors, lifestyles, and conditions that affect
birth outcomes, such as smoking, substance abuse, poor nutrition, lack of
prenatal care, medical problems, and chronic illness. Public health agencies
including CDC/ATSDR, health care providers, and communities of all ethnic groups must
partner to improve the infant mortality rate in the United States. This joint
approach should address the behaviors, lifestyles, and conditions that affect
birth outcomes. Substantial investments have been made in consultation,
research, and service delivery to reduce disparities in access to health care and
health status. The plan to reduce infant mortality rates includes:
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A network between health care experts and minority
communities to encourage healthy behaviors by pregnant women and parents
of infants. |
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Research that will determine the cause of SIDS, develop
effective strategies to identify at-risk infants more precisely, and
create effective interventions for high-risk infants. |
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What can Healthcare
Providers do to Help Reduce
Infant Mortality Rates?
Health care providers should advise their patients about factors that
affect birth outcomes, such as maternal smoking, drug and alcohol abuse, poor
nutrition, stress, insufficient prenatal care, chronic illness or other medical
problems.
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What can Communities and Individuals do to Help Reduce Infant Mortality
Rates?
Communities can play an important role in this effort by encouraging
pregnant women to seek prenatal care in the first trimester and educating
communities, providers, pregnant women and family members on factors that effect
infant mortality such as smoking, substance abuse, poor nutrition, lack of
prenatal care, medical problems, chronic illness, and sudden infant death
syndrome (SIDS). Parents and caregivers should become familiar with the
risk factors and always place sleeping infants on their backs. Research has demonstrated that babies who slept on their
stomachs or sides were at a higher risk for SIDS. A separate but proximate
sleeping environment is recommended such as a separate crib in the parents'
bedroom.5
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What are the Risk Factors for SIDS?
| 1. |
Tummy (prone) or side sleeping
Infants who are
put to sleep on their tummy or side are more likely to die from
SIDS than infants who sleep on their backs. |
| 2. |
Soft sleep surfaces
Sleeping on a
waterbed, couch, sofa, or pillows, or sleeping with stuffed toys
has been associated with an increased risk for SIDS. |
| 3. |
Loose Bedding
Sleeping with
pillows or loose bedding such as comforters, quilts, and
blankets increases and infant's risk for SIDS. |
| 4. |
Overheating
Infants who
overheat because they are overdressed, have too many blankets
on, or are in a room that is too hot are at a higher risk of
SIDS. |
| 5. |
Smoking
Infants born to
mothers who smoke during pregnancy are at increased risk of
SIDS. Also infants exposed to smoke at home or at daycare are
more likely to die from SIDS. |
| 6. |
Bed sharing
Sharing a bed
with anyone other than the parents or caregivers and with people
who smoke or are under the influence of alcohol or drugs,
increases an infant's risk for SIDS. The safest place for an
infant to sleep is in their own crib or other separate safe
sleep surface next to the parent or caregiver's bed. |
| 7. |
Preterm and low birth weight infants
Infants born
premature or low birth weight are more likely to die from SIDS.5 |
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What is CDC Doing to Address Infant Mortality? |
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Guidelines for the Death Scene Investigation
of Sudden, Unexplained Infant Deaths (SUID) and the
Investigation Reporting Form (SUIDRF)
Accurate, consistent cause-of-death data is needed to monitor
national trends in infant deaths, evaluate prevention programs,
and conduct research that will ultimately lead to a reduction in
these deaths. In order to achieve this aim, CDC is working to
improve the quality of data collected at infant death scene
investigations and of data recorded on death certificates. |
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Infant death scene investigation training
materials
Of equal importance to revising the SUIDIRF is the need for
training investigators and death certifiers in how to
consistently collect data at the death scene and translate the
investigation findings into a cause-of-death on the death
certificate. |
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SIDS Research
CDC is investigating reasons for the disparities in SIDS rates
between minorities and white infants. Additionally, CDC is
examining the trends in SIDS and other SUID to determine the
extent to which changes in reporting cause-of-death explain the
continued decline in SIDS rates.
http://www.cdc.gov/SIDS/CDCSIDSactivity.htm |
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For more
information
about infant mortality:
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Sources:
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