Infant Mortality Trends Among Georgia Residents, 1995-2003: Targeting Healthy People’s 2010 Goals

Population-based trends in infant mortality among Georgia Residents between 1995 and 2003 were assessed on characteristics such as race, birth weight, neonatal and post-neonatal periods, and cause of death. A statistical analysis was conducted to show that the Georgia infant mortality rate (IMR) remained constant throughout the study period and averaged 8.67 per 1,000 live births. The analysis revealed racial disparities, with an IMR ranging from 6.03 in white infants to 13.76 in black infants, with less than one percent (0.86%) change, on average, among the differences between black and white mortality rates across the nine-year period. The disparities were also evident in infants with low birth weight (LBW) and very low birth weight (VLBW). Black infants born with LBW (12.9%) and VLBW (9.98%) have more than twice the rate of infant mortality compared to white infants born with LBW (6.64%) and VLBW (1.12%). Mortality in the neonatal period accounted for more than half (67.96%) of all infant deaths and exhibited considerable ethnic differences. Among all groups, black male neonates (10.7) have the highest mortality rates. The average neonatal mortality rate across the entire study period is 5.89 (SD=0.20); the average postneonatal mortality rate across the entire study period is 2.78 (SD=0.22). The five leading causes of death among Georgian infants in descending order were: birth defects, prematurity and low birth weight, Sudden Unexplained Infant Deaths (SUID), other perinatal conditions and respiratory conditions with racial differences in the ordering.