- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On
Infant mortality down across the state; local rate drops
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – A new state report shows a continued drop in infant mortality across California, with a notable decrease in Lake County in 2012.
California’s infant mortality rate has reached a record low, according to Dr. Ron Chapman, state health officer and director of the California Department of Public Health.
Chapman reported that in 2012, California’s infant mortality rate was 4.5 infant deaths per 1,000 live births, lower than the rate of 4.8 in 2011.
The agency defines infant mortality as the number of deaths in infants less than one year of age.
In 2012, there were 503,788 births in California and 2,247 infants died that year. The leading cause of infant death in 2012 was congenital malformations, followed by short gestation and low birth weight, CDPH reported.
“Optimal infant health outcomes are influenced by a woman’s health even before she becomes pregnant, including avoidance of tobacco, alcohol and drugs, maintaining a healthy weight, and taking folic acid supplements,” said Chapman. “Early entry into prenatal care, genetic testing to identify health risks at birth, breastfeeding, childhood immunizations, and continuing proper nutrition through a baby’s developing years all contribute to improving infant health outcomes.”
For 2012, Lake County had 739 births and three infant deaths, compared to 715 births and eight infant deaths in 2011, according to CDPH data.
Based on a Lake County News review of county vital statistics records from 1994 to 2012, illustrated in the chart above, 2011 had the highest infant mortality rate of all of those years.
The data also suggests that there can be extreme variations from year to year in the local infant death rate.
Because Lake County had less than five deaths in 2012, the state did not give the county a specific infant rate, so it's difficult to compare it to other counties.
In 2012, 17 counties had fewer births than Lake, based on the state's data.
The black infant mortality rate decreased from 10.5 infant deaths per 1,000 live births in 2011 to 9.8 in 2012, however racial/ethnic disparities in infant mortality persist, CDPH said. Black infant deaths occurred 2.6 times more frequently than Caucasian infant deaths in 2012.
The Caucasian infant mortality rate decreased from 4.1 infant deaths per 1,000 live births in 2011 to 3.8 in 2012, and the Hispanic infant mortality rate also decreased from 4.9 infant deaths per 1,000 live births in 2011 to 4.7 in 2012, according to CDPH.
The most recent national statistics show that California accounts for approximately one in every eight births nationwide.
In 2010, California had the seventh lowest infant mortality rate among all 50 states and the lowest infant mortality rate among the 10 states with the largest number of births, CDPH said. The most recent (2011) national Infant Mortality Rate is 6.05 infant deaths per 1,000 live births.
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