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November 02, 2001
Michigan Department of Community Health Director, James K. Haveman, Jr, today announced infant mortality statistics for the year 2000. Michigan infant mortality rate was 8.2 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2000 up from 8.0 deaths per live births in 1999. The number of infant deaths increased from 1,071 in 1999 to 1,112 in 2000. The infant mortality rate is the number of deaths of infants under one year of age per 1,000 live births, and is a worldwide standard used to measure health status.
"While this number of infant deaths and the mortality rate are similar to that of the previous year, there has been a significant decline in infant mortality during the 1990s," said Haveman. "In 2000 there were 533 fewer infant deaths than in 1989 and the infant death rate declined 26% from 1989 to 2000"
The infant death rate rose slightly for all racial groups with the rate for whites increasing from 5.9 to 6.0 and the rate for blacks increasing from 17.9 to 18.2. Live births to Michigan residents increased two percent in 2000, from 133,429 in 1999 to 136,048 in 2000. Live births also increased nationally.
Several efforts have recently been implemented by the Michigan Department of Community Health to continue to address the issue of reducing infant mortality in Michigan. They include:
-- The Department has renewed its commitment to assure all women in families at or below 185% of poverty have insurance coverage to cover their prenatal care and delivery. A letter is now given to eligible women identified as needing prenatal care, guaranteeing payment to prenatal care providers, pharmacies and facilities that they will be paid by the Department. In fiscal year 2001, more than 14,000 women were provided services using this guarantee letter.
-- The Department no longer requires pregnant women enrolled onto Medicaid to choose a managed care plan if they wish to remain with an established fee for service provider for their care.
-- The Department is designing improved procedures that will assure that all pregnant women enrolled onto Medicaid are assessed and referred to Maternal Support Services if they have any of several identified risks.
-- The Department is continuing to give priority to the processing of Medicaid applications for pregnant women, and are no longer requiring proof of income in order to enroll the women. This has cut down drastically on the number of applications rejected or delayed.
In December, the Department will be sponsoring an "Infant Mortality Summit" at the University of Detroit-Mercy to further analyze and discuss efforts with communities from around the state that can impact infant mortality.
"Infant mortality is not just a state or community issue," said Haveman. "We must work cooperatively so that communities that are experiencing high rates of infant deaths can strengthen systems of identification and care of its most at risk women. The Infant Mortality Summit will be an important step in this process."
In 2000, infants born with very low birth weight (less than 1,500 grams) experienced an infant death rate of 291.1 per 1,000 live births compared to a rate of 2.6 for those infants
weighing 2,500 grams or more. Multiple birth infants had an infant mortality rate of 39.7 per 1,000 live births compared to the rate of 7.1 for single birth infants. The infant mortality rate was higher for male infants (9.5 per 1,000 live births) than for female infants (6.8 per 1,000 live births).
Infant death rates were the lowest for mothers aged 20 years old and over and highest for
mothers less than 20 years old. Unmarried mothers had infant mortality rates twice those of married mothers. 74.5 percent of the women giving birth in 2000 obtained adequate prenatal care. Women receiving inadequate prenatal care experienced infant mortality rates over three times as high as those women receiving adequate prenatal care. Mothers who reported smoking while pregnant had an infant death rate of 11.6 per 1,000 live births compared to a rate of 7.0 for mothers who reported not smoking during pregnancy.
Infant mortality statistics for each county in Michigan and selected cities is available on the Departments' web site at www.mdch.state.mi.us and by clicking on "Health Statistics and Vital Records" and then on "Infant Mortality Statistics."