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Perinatal Mortality Rate
Perinatal mortality is simply the sum of fetal deaths and neonatal deaths.
Since the causes of fetal and neonatal deaths are frequently so similar, it is
appropriate to think of fetal and neonatal deaths as each being manifestations
of the same underlying conditions. Many authorities feel that the perinatal
mortality rate is preferable to either the fetal or neonatal mortality rate.
Therefore, adding the two indicators together may lessen errors resulting from
either deliberate or inadvertent misclassification into one category or the
other.
The Perinatal Mortality Rate is calculated in the same manner as the fetal
death rate. In 1996, there were 497 (293 fetal and 204 neonatal) perinatal
deaths in Arkansas, as well as 36,356 live births. The Perinatal Mortality
Rate = (497 / (36,356 + 293)) X 1,000 = 13.6 per 1,000 live births plus fetal
deaths. In 1995, the comparable rate for the United States was 11.8.
The perinatal mortality rate is, by definition, based upon a combination of
the rates for neonatal mortality and fetal deaths. It should come as no
surprise, therefore, that, as with those two indicators, the counties with the
highest rates are somewhat scattered around the state. It would be wise to
remember, however, that the county rates are based on very small numbers of
events, even when using five years of data.
ADH Management Areas 7, 8, and 9 had the highest five-year average rates at
15.1, 15.3, and 15.8, respectively. The lowest average rates were in Areas
11, 3, and 1 with rates of 10.6 and 10.7, and 10.9, respectively.
Once again, there are significant racial differences for this indicator. The
perinatal mortality rate for Whites for the five-year period from 1992-1996
was 11.3. For Blacks, it was much higher at 20.2.
Since perinatal mortality reflects a combination of fetal and neonatal
mortality, it is not surprising to note that the 1992-1996 perinatal mortality
trends show similar year-to-year fluctuations as the neonatal and fetal rates.
As with the neonatal and fetal rates, the perinatal mortality rate declined
slightly each year from 1992 through 1994, then showed a small upswing in 1995
and 1996.
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