Fetal and Infant Deaths 2005

Summary

Annual statistical publication that collates and analyses information on the causes of fetal and infant deaths registered in New Zealand.

Key facts from the publication:
Fetal and Infant Deaths 2005: Key Facts
Deaths

• There were 697 fetal and infant deaths in 2005.
• In 2005, 294 infant deaths were registered (5.0 deaths per 1000 live births). There were 403 fetal deaths in 2005 (6.8 deaths per 1000 total births).
• Post-neonatal death rates have decreased slightly over the past decade while neonatal (from birth to 27 days after birth) death rates have remained steady.
• In 2005, 36 percent of early neonatal deaths were where the baby died within 24 hours of life.

Ethnicity

• Māori infant deaths (114 deaths) accounted for 38.8 percent of all infant deaths.
• Overall, the Māori infant death rate has been decreasing since 1996; the most significant decrease has been for the Māori post-neonatal death rate.
• The Māori infant death rate was 71.8 percent higher than the non-Māori, non-Pacific peoples ethnic group in 2005.
• The Pacific peoples infant death rate was 76.9 percent higher than the non-Maori, non-Pacific peoples ethnic group in 2005.

Risk factors

• Babies born in multiple births accounted for 19.6 percent of early neonatal deaths in 2005.
• The most deprived areas in New Zealand (NZDep2001 Quintile 5) have increasing rates of fetal deaths compared with other quintiles.
• The most deprived areas in New Zealand have rates of infant deaths over two times the least deprived areas (NZDep2001 Quintile 1).
• Babies with a birthweight of less than 1000 g and a gestation of less than 32 completed weeks made up 48.1 percent of all neonatal deaths and 7.2 percent of post-neonatal deaths.

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome

• Forty infant deaths were attributed to the Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) in 2005.
• The SIDS rate of 0.7 deaths per 1000 live births in 2005 was the lowest recorded since SIDS became a separate category in the International Classification of Diseases in 1979.
• SIDS was the underlying cause of death for 13.6 percent of all infant deaths and 32.4 percent of post-neonatal deaths.