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What does this mean?

In Kids Stats infant mortality refers to children less than one year of age who die of any cause. 

Why is it important to monitor?

Infants are more vulnerable than other age groups to illness and death. Key factors that increase that vulnerability include poor social and environmental conditions, such as lack of access to a clean water supply, sewerage, sanitation, housing, and food supply.

There are a number of factors that influence infant mortality including:

•  the quality of neonatal care
•  the level of education of people caring for infants
•  understanding of the environmental conditions and health risks that affect the health of infants
•  medical technology and surgical knowledge
•  the services and supports available for infants and their families [1,2,3].

While overall mortality rates have decreased across time, the rate of change varies by age group and actual cause of death. Monitoring child deaths is important to determine whether improvements to mortality are equitably distributed across all demographic groups. Monitoring deaths can also help identify developing problems in relation to particular causes of deaths as well as help identify where better preventative actions may be needed.

Indicator

The indicator used in Kids Stats to monitor infant mortality is:

The number of deaths of persons aged less than one year as a rate per 1,000 live births during the year.

Main findings

From 1996 to 2004 there has been a generally downward trend in the infant mortality rate, though with some fluctuations, including for 2005.

• Infant mortality rates in NSW are significantly below those for Australia as a whole
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are more at risk of infant mortality than non-Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children
• There is a substantial apparent change in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander infant mortality from the period 1996 to 2000 to the period 2001 to 2005 – declining between those periods by approximately 30%. Currently, however, there is no apparent trend
• Age is a factor. The first 24 hours of life is the time of greatest risk, with between a quarter and a third of all infant deaths occurring at that time.

Notes:

[1] Wegman, M. (1996). Infant Mortality: Some International Comparisons. Pediatrics, 98(6):1020-1027
[2] Stanley, F. J. (2001). 'Child health since Federation', in Year Book Australia 2001, ABS Cat. no. 1301.0, Canberra.
[3]Cadwell, J.C. (1999) Cunningham Lecture 1999: Pushing back the frontiers of death, Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia.

For details of the references and to find out more about the data follow the link to Glossary and further information.