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HIGHLIGHTS TO TABLE 4/FIGURE 6
- In 1999, there were 156 infant deaths (age at death less than one year) in the province, for an infant mortality rate of 3.7 per 1,000 live births, a record low rate for British Columbia. This is a decrease from 174 infant deaths and an infant mortality rate of 4.1 per 1,000 live births in 1998. In the last five years, there has been a remarkable decrease in both the number of infant deaths and the infant mortality rate. Since 1991, the B.C. infant mortality rate has been consistently below the Canadian rate.
- Out of the 156 infant deaths by age at death:
- one half (53.2%) were in the early neonatal period, age at death less than 7 days (83 deaths)
- one seventh (14.1%) died between 7 and 27 days after birth (22 deaths)
- one third (32.7%) were in the post-neonatal period, age at death 28-364 days (51 deaths).
- Infant mortality rates in B.C. have fallen dramatically to almost one sixth of the rates in 1965. Decreases in early neonatal mortality (age at death less than seven days) and neonatal mortality (age at death less than 28 days) have been major contributors to the overall decline in infant mortality rates over this time period. In Canada infant mortality rates have fallen to approximately one quarter of the rates seen thirty years ago.
- Perinatal mortality refers to fetal deaths (stillbirths) and early neonatal deaths (age at death less than seven days). Since the causes of stillbirths and early neonatal deaths are frequently so similar, the perinatal mortality rate is frequently used as a health status measure. Reviewing perinatal mortality shows that the decline in infant deaths has not been offset by an increase in stillbirths. Combining data from Tables 1 and 4, perinatal deaths have declined in the last five years, from 507 in 1995 to 377 in 1999, and the perinatal mortality rate declined from 10.8 perinatal deaths per 1,000 total births in 1995 to 9.0 in 1999.
- In the last five years, post neonatal deaths decreased 46.3% from 95 in 1995 to 51 in 1999, and the post neonatal mortality rate declined from 2.0 to 1.2 deaths per 1,000 live births. The 1999 post neonatal statistics were the lowest ever recorded in British Columbia.
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