City’s Infant Death Rate Dips Slightly

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The New York Sun

The city’s infant mortality rate dropped slightly in 2006 to 5.9 deaths per 1,000 births, down from 6 the previous year, the Health Department reported today.

In 2006, 740 babies died before their first birthday out of a total of 25,506 births.

The city’s infant mortality rate is lower than the national average of 6.8 per 1,000 births in 2004, according to the most recent data available.

Birth defects and premature birth are among the leading causes of infant death.

Mortality rates varied sharply by ethnicity. The infant mortality rate among black babies was 10.5 per 1,000 births, compared to 3.8 per 1,000 births among Caucasian babies.

The infant mortality rate was highest in the Bronx, with 7.1 deaths per 1,000 births. Citywide, health officials reported that multiples – including twins and triplets – died at five times the rate of single infants.


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