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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 1999, there were 187 neonatal deaths and 36,672 live births in Arkansas. These 187
deaths accounted for about 60 percent of the 312 infant deaths in the state that year. Most
of these deaths are attributable to causes having their origin in the prenatal period.
Approximately two in seven neonatal deaths are due to congenital anomalies.
The Neonatal Mortality Rate is calculated in a manner very similar to the Infant Mortality
Rate. Neonatal Mortality Rate = (187/36,672) X 1,000 = 5.1 neonatal deaths per 1,000
live births. The neonatal mortality rate for the United States in 1998 was 4.7.
Although Calhoun County had the highest average at 16.9, it should be noted that only
three neonatal deaths occurred in this county for the five-year period. This rate
demonstrates the need for caution in using these rates.
For the Public Health Regions, the average neonatal mortality rate ranged from a low of 4.6
in the Northwest region to a high of 6.4 in the Southeast region.
Neonatal mortality is similar to infant mortality in that there are significant differences by
race. The five-year average rate for Whites was 4.6, versus 8.5 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 1995-1999 was 5.4 deaths per 1,000 live births, with a high of 5.7 in 1998
and a low of 5.1 in 1999. The neonatal mortality rate dropped, though not significantly, in
1999 from 5.7 to 5.1.
Nationally, neonatal mortality rates, like infant mortality rates, have exhibited a steady
decline, moving from 8.5 in 1980 to 4.7 in 1999.
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