Pregnancy & Infant Health
Healthy childhood development starts with healthy pregnancies and healthy infants. This section focuses on maternal behaviours while pregnant, indicators that measure the health of births in our community, and infant feeding.
Infant Mortality Rates
Infant Mortality
What does this measure?
The infant mortality rate is calculated as the number of deaths of children less than one year of age per 1,000 live births in the same year. Stillbirths are excluded.
Why is this important?
The Canadian Institute for Health Information notes that infant mortality rates are “a long-established measure, not only of child health, but also of the well-being of a society.” Rates of infant mortality have been said to be sensitive indicators or the “tip of the iceberg” of a number of factors affecting children’s health, as well as an important health problem by itself. Changes in infant mortality signal factors affecting the health of children more generally. The infant mortality rate is an indicator of economic and social conditions for the health of mothers and newborns, as well as the effectiveness of health systems. Social conditions that increase risks for having poor reproductive health and birth outcomes are pregnancy history, exposures to infections, alcohol or drug use, poor medical care, chronic health problems, and smoking. Low income is an important contributing factor.
How are Hastings Prince and Prince Edward County doing?
The infant mortality rate in Hastings and Prince Edward Counties has fluctuated from 2006-2015, but is generally similar to Ontario and peer public health units. The most recent data from 2015 has a crude rate of 5.5 deaths per 100,000 infants. For more information, go to the Public Health Ontario All-Cause Mortality Snapshot and select “Infant Mortality” under “Select Indicator”.