Infant Mortality Rate 2008

North Carolina’s infant mortality rates drop in 2008; minority rate is lowest in state’s history

RALEIGH – Infant mortality rates dropped in North Carolina in 2008 and the minority infant mortality rate was the lowest in the state's history, state health officials announced today. A total of 130,758 North Carolina babies were born last year. The state's total infant mortality rate was 8.2 deaths per 1,000 live births, 3.5 percent lower than the 2007 rate of 8.5. National figures are not yet available for 2008 data, but North Carolina is currently ranked 44th among the 50 states and the District of Columbia, with an average rate of 8.5 over 2005 and 2006. The national infant mortality average for that same time period was 6.5 deaths per 1,000 live births.

In 2008, North Carolina's minority infant mortality rate was 13.5 deaths per 1,000 live births, nearly a 3 percent drop from the 2007 rate of 13.9. There were 37,530 live births to minority mothers, and 508 babies of minority race died before the age of 1 during 2008.

The state's white infant death rate also fell in 2008, from 6.3 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2007 to 6.0 last year, a 4.8 percent drop. There were 93,228 births to white mothers in 2008, and 558 deaths of white babies under age 1.
"Our infant mortality rates in Wilkes dropped in 2008 below the state and national average," said Wilkes County Health Director, Beth Lovette. Wilkes County recorded 785 live births in 2008, 731 (93 percent) were white births and 54 (7 percent) were minority births. Wilkes County's infant mortality rate was 7.2 deaths per 1,000 births in 2007, and decreased to 6.4 deaths per 1,000 births in 2008. From 2004 to 2008 Wilkes infant mortality rate was 8.3 per 1,000 live births, compared to the North Carolina rate of 8.4.

"It is good news that our infant mortality rates dropped in 2008, especially among minorities," said State Health Director Jeffrey Engel. "Although racial disparities persist, the decrease in the minority death rate is a promising sign that we are moving in the right direction. We want all North Carolina babies to be born healthy and to stay healthy.

"Community-based organizations and local health departments have been working diligently to reach families of color, to help them access health services, to provide them with care coordination and support, and to give them positive, helpful health information," Engel said.

To address these and other risk factors, partnerships among agencies such as the N.C. Division of Public Health, the non-profit N.C. Healthy Start Foundation, the March of Dimes, and the University of North Carolina Center for Maternal and Child Health are encouraging women to take advantage of opportunities to improve their health not only during, but also prior to and after pregnancy. The Division is also seeking to expand access to health care and family planning services for women of childbearing age.