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Neonatal Mortality Rate
Neonatal deaths are a subset of infant deaths. A neonatal death is an infant
death that occurs less than 28 days after birth. The life may be measured in
terms of minutes, hours, days, or weeks.
In 1996, there were 204 neonatal deaths and 36,356 live births in Arkansas.
These 204 deaths accounted for about 61 percent of the 337 infant deaths in
the state that year. Most of these deaths are attributable to causes having
their origin in the prenatal period. Approximately one in four neonatal
deaths is due to congenital anomalies.
The Neonatal Mortality Rate is calculated in a manner very similar to the
Infant Mortality Rate. Neonatal Mortality Rate = (204 / 36,356) X 1,000 = 5.6
neonatal deaths per 1,000 live births. The neonatal mortality rate for the
United States in 1996 was 4.7.
As the map indicates, neonatal mortality varies across the state. Lafayette
County had the highest neonatal mortality rate for the 1992-1996 period at
16.4, followed by Van Buren County at 12.9.
For the ADH Health Management Areas, the average neonatal mortality rate
ranged from a low of 4.0 in Areas 3, 7, and 11 to a high of 7.0 and 7.2 in
Areas 5 and 9, respectively.
Neonatal mortality is similar to infant mortality in that there are
significant differences by race. The five-year average rate for Whites was
4.7, versus 8.2 for Blacks.
The year-to-year pattern for neonatal mortality in Arkansas, like that of
infant mortality, shows considerable fluctuation. The average neonatal
mortality rate for the five-year period from 1992-1996 was 5.5 deaths per
1,000 live births, with a high of 6.0 in 1992 and a low of 5.0 in 1994. The
neonatal mortality rate has risen slightly, though not significantly, since
1994, from 5.0 to 5.6.
Nationally, neonatal mortality rates, like infant mortality rates, have
exhibited a steady decline. Indeed, neonatal mortality rates have dropped
from 8.5 in 1980 to 4.7 in 1996.
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