Infant Mortality
The term infant mortality refers to the death of a baby prior to its first birthday. Rates of infant mortality can serve as indirect measures of a nation’s health. International comparisons suggest that nations with the greatest inequality of income and social opportunity also have the most adverse perinatal, child and adult health outcomes. Health status differs by social class and race, even among the most affluent sectors of the population.
Disparities in the rates of infant mortality are not only found between nations, but within nations as well. In 1997, infant mortality rates in Canada ranged from 4.4 per 1,000 live births in Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, to 8.9 in Saskatchewan and 10.9 in the Northwest Territories. Health Canada cautions that provincial/territorial differences in infant mortality rates should be interpreted cautiously, as rates are unstable in those provinces and territories with few infant deaths. This is particularly the case for the smaller provinces and the Yukon.
Clear differences in infant mortality rates also exist between income groups in urban Canada. In 1991, the overall infant mortality rate in urban Canada was 5.8 per 1,000. The high, upper-middle and middle-income groups had infant mortality rates that fell below the Canadian average, while the lower-middle and low-income groups experienced higher than average infant mortality rates. Canadians in the high-income group had an infant mortality rate of 4.5 per 1,000, compared with a rate of 7.5 per 1,000 among Canadians in the low-income group. The rate difference between the highest and lowest income groups was 2.9 per 1,000. In 1986, the difference was 4.8 per 1,000, and in 1971, it was 9.8 per 1,000.
The leading causes of infant death in Canada are conditions arising in the perinatal period and ill-defined conditions such as Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). Specifically, in 1995, 2,321 infants in Canada died before their first birthday. Of these deaths, 1,584 (68%) occurred in the neonatal period and 737 (32%) in the post-neonatal period. The two leading causes of neonatal death were conditions originating in the perinatal period (for example, respiratory distress syndrome, short gestation and low birth weight) and congenital anomalies. Conditions originating in the perinatal period accounted for 60% of neonatal deaths. Congenital anomalies accounted for 33% of neonatal deaths. The two leading causes of post-neonatal death were SIDS and congenital anomalies, accounting for 31% and 23% of post-neonatal deaths respectively.
For more information on infant mortality, please refer to our on-line Resource Catalogue for resources.
