Return to Table of Contents         Go to Map  
 
 
Postneonatal Mortality Rate                                              
                                                                                                    
Postneonatal mortality, like neonatal mortality, is a subset of infant                              
mortality. Postneonatal mortality is defined as those infant deaths in                              
which the infant is more than 27 days and less than one year of age.                                
Of the 315 infant deaths occurring in Arkansas in 2001, 136 (44                                     
percent) were postneonatal deaths.                                                                  
                                                                                                    
While neonatal deaths frequently arise out of conditions originating in                             
the prenatal period, postneonatal deaths are more likely to reflect the                             
socio-economic conditions of the home (e.g. quality of care and                                     
nutrition), as well as infectious diseases and other causes.                                        
                                                                                                    
The Postneonatal Mortality Rate is conceptually very similar to the                                 
Infant and Neonatal Mortality Rates.  Consequently, the calculations                                
are quite comparable.  The Postneonatal Mortality Rate = (136 / 36,982)                             
X 1,000 = 3.7 postneonatal deaths per 1,000 live births.  The U.S. rate                             
in 1999, 2000 and 2001 was 2.3 postneonatal deaths per 1,000 live                                   
births.                                                                                             
                                                                                                    
The map indicates that the counties with high postneonatal mortality                                
rates are relatively scattered.  It should be noted that there are                                  
several counties with high postneonatal rates and low neonatal rates or                             
vice versa.  Such situations may warrant further investigation.                                     
                                                                                                    
Montgomery County had the highest postneonatal mortality rates, with                                
10.5 postneonatal deaths per 1,000 live births.  The counties (except                               
one) with the lowest rate (0.0) each had two or fewer postneonatal                                  
deaths in the entire five-year period.  This may be as much a                                       
reflection of the relatively small populations as a commentary on the                               
health conditions of those counties.                                                                
                                                                                                    
For the time period 1997-2001, the Southeast region had the highest                                 
average postneonatal mortality rate at 4.1, while the Northwest region                              
had the lowest average rate at 2.6.                                                                 
                                                                                                    
As with the infant and neonatal mortality rates, postneonatal mortality                             
rates differ significantly by race.  The average postneonatal mortality                             
rate for Whites was 3.0.  For Blacks, the rate was 5.5.                                             
 
 
Return to Table of Contents         Go to Map