I want to understand the basics about infant mortality and so I have gone to the sources: Unicef (from page 7 of publication) and the WHO (http://www.who.int/maternal_child_adolescent/documents/pdfs/lancet_neonatal_survival_paper1.pdf).
First from UNICEF:
The earliest days of life are the most vulnerable for a child. Globally, almost 40 percent of deaths of children under the age of five take place during the neonatal period (the first 28 days of life). A child born in one of the least developed countries is almost 14 times more likely to die during the first 28 days of life than a child born in an industrialized country. Though most neonatal deaths are preventable, they currently represent a much higher proportion of under-five deaths than in previous years. Deaths in the first week of life have risen from 23 percent of under-five deaths in 1980 to 28 percent in 2000. The rising proportion reflects two key factors:
• The difficulty of reaching many babies who are born at home, without effective and timely interventions.
• Neglect of simple, cost-effective neonatal survival interventions, due to an emphasis on post-natal interventions like immunization. Emphasis on interventions after 28 days of life has meant a neglect of simple, cost-effective neonatal survival interventions.
And here’s the breakdown from the WHO of what babies die from. Note that Infections (Sepsis/pneumonia 26%, Tetanus 7%, Diarrhoea 3%) comprise 36%.
Estimated distribution of direct causes of 4 million neonatal deaths for the year 2000. Based on vital registration data for 45 countries and modelled estimates for 147 countries.
- Congenital 7%
- Asphyxia 23%
- Preterm 27%
- Sepsis/pneumonia 26%
- Tetanus 7%
- Diarrhoea 3%
- Other 7%
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