Black Infant Mortality Rate

and Pinger define infant mortality as death prior to 1 year of age. It is expressed as the number of deaths per 1,000 live births. Leading causes of infant mortality are: congenital malformation, preterm/low birth weight, complications during pregnancy and accidents. In the last 100 years there have been decreases in infant mortality due to economic growth, sanitation improvement, developed medical care and enhanced nutrition. (McKenzie & Pinger, 2017). Infant mortality rates vary amid ethnic and

Infant mortality is considered to be an important factor in determining the health of a nation. To better understand the severity of infant mortality rates this brief addresses the trend of infant mortality throughout history and then compares the differences in infant mortality rates (IMR) between black and white infants. The incidence of infant mortality before the 20th century was staggering, approximately a 30 percent of infants died before the age of one (CDC, 1999). At that time, survival was

30 March 2016 Infant Mortality Infant mortality is a topic many people do not think of until they have their first born child. Infant mortality is defined as the death of a baby before they reach their first birthday, and is measured by the number of live deaths per 1,000 live births. Ohio ranks 44th in the United States in infant mortality rates (America’s Health Rankings). Ohio’s infant mortality rate has slowly decreased over the years; however, infant mortality among the black population has

among the Blacks and Native Americans. These two groups have the highest rates of several health disparities. The two groups, Blacks, and Native Americans have the highest rates in infant mortality and cardiovascular disease. Research has shown several key risk factors that are associated with these high rates. Some include poor environment, lack of access to care, physical inactivity, tobacco use, and high blood pressure. These health disparities and disadvantages are what causes Blacks and Native

Infant Mortality Within the United States Herein I briefly overview the Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) within the United States. Initially, I discuss specific causes of infant death and then, contributing factors which put babies at risk. Next, the distribution of various IMR is surveyed on a state to state basis. States possessing the ten highest infant mortality rates are discussed, including possible reasons for higher IMR. In addition, those states with the ten lowest IMR are mentioned.

This is compared to 1.2 percent of infant deaths from all black couples. This is a significant difference when talking about infant deaths between races and there is still a difference when we look at couples with one black parent and one white parent. The percentage was 0.7 percent for a white mother and black father or vice versa. When we look at the time frame of 1998-2006, the percentages in all groups dropped by only 0.1 percent (El-Sayed, Paczkowski, Rutherford, Keyes, & Galea, 2015). Based

A third determinant of high infant mortality rate is whether the mother is educated or not. Plenty of studies have found that low education levels can lead to poor pregnancy outcomes such as infant mortality (Loggins & Andrade, 2014). However, although the attainment of education for blacks increased, the infant mortality rate still declined at a slower rate compared to those whites that had an education attainment increased (Loggins & Andrade, 2014). This could mean that it is not solely one determinant

the disparity of infant mortality in minority communities? Background: According to the Minority Nurse Journal, African American babies are 2.5 times likely to die compared to non- Hispanic white infants, there are similar results in comparison to American Indians. The research for the last 30-50 years shows that this health disparity continues to increase. The United States has an infant mortality rate of 6.7/1,000. Among non-Hispanic African Americans, the rates are nearly doubled

Infant mortality has long been considered to be an important indicator of a nation’s health, and while it has fallen dramatically over the past five decades, there are still striking differences along socioeconomic, geographic, and racial lines. “In 2009, the infant mortality rate was 12.4 infant deaths per 1,000 live births among blacks, compared to 5.3 among whites.” Equally large and persistent differences by race are found for other birth outcomes – including stillbirths, preterm births, and

Stremikis, Squires & Schoen, 2014). Healthy lives measured by mortality amenable to health care (deaths prevented with timely and effective care), healthy life expectancy and infant mortality, illustrates that a country is ensuring individuals live long and flourishing lives (Davis, Stremikis, Squires & Schoen, 2014). Healthy People 2020 which was launched