Fetal and Infant Deaths 2010

Summary

These tables present data on deaths that occurred before one completed year of life, and which were registered with Births, Deaths and Marriages in 2010.

The data presented includes information on the cause of death, gestation and birthweight, SIDS deaths (sudden infant death syndrome) and SUDI deaths (sudden unexpected death of an infant), as well as demographic information (eg, ethnicity, age, sex, and domicile).

This dataset is a continuation of the Fetal and Infant Death series.

Please note: These tables were updated in January 2014 to include an additional table on SUDI deaths over time.

Key findings:

Overview

• In 2010, there were 471 fetal deaths registered, compared to 482 in 2009. This equates to rates of 7.2 deaths per 1000 total births in 2010, and 7.6 in 2009.
• The fetal death rate remained relatively stable between 1996 and 2010.
• In 2010, there were 359 infant deaths registered, compared to 332 in 2009. This equates to rates of 5.5 deaths per 1000 live births in 2010, and 5.2 in 2009

Cause

• The most common specified case of fetal death was ‘slow fetal growth and fetal malnutrition’ (10.0%).
• ‘Fetal death of an unspecified cause’ accounted for 37.2% of all fetal deaths.
• The three most common causes of infant death were ‘extreme immaturity’ (17.5%), ‘accidental suffocation and strangulation in bed’ (8.1%) and ‘sudden infant death syndrome’ (7.0%).

Gestation

• The majority of fetal deaths in 2010 were very pre-term (ie, before 32 weeks gestation) (65.2%).
• Of infants who died in 2010, 56.8% were born pre-term (ie, before 37 weeks gestation), of which, 44.3% were born very pre-term (i.e. before 32 weeks gestation), and 36.2% were born at term (ie, between 37 and 41 weeks gestation).

Birthweight

• In 2010, over half (56.1%) of all fetal deaths in 2010 had an extremely low birthweight (less than 1000g).
• Over a third (37.9%) of all infant deaths were infants with an extremely low birthweight (less than 1000g).

Ethnicity

• Pacific people had the highest fetal death rate in 2010 at 9.8 deaths per 1000 total births.
• The fetal death rate for Māori was 8.0 deaths per 1000 total births, compared to 6.4 for the ‘other’ ethnic group.
• The Pacific infant death rate was nearly twice the ‘other’ ethnic group infant death rate (8.0 per 1000 live births compared to 4.4).
• The Māori infant death rate was 7.0 per 1000 live births.

Maternal age

• In 2010, mothers aged 20–24 years had the highest rate of fetal deaths (9.3 deaths per 1000 total births).
• Mothers aged 30–34 years had the lowest rate of fetal deaths (5.8 deaths per 1000 total births).
• Mothers aged under 20 years had the highest rate of infant deaths (10.0 deaths per 1000 live births).
• Mothers aged 30-34 years had the lowest rate of infant deaths (3.3 deaths per 1000 live births).

District health board (DHB)

• In 2010, the DHB with the highest fetal death rate was Wairarapa (10.8 per 1000 total births).
• The DHB with the lowest fetal death rate was Nelson Marlborough (3.5 per 1000 total births)
• The DHB with the highest infant death rate was Wairarapa (10.9 per 1000 live births).
• The DHB with the lowest infant death rate was Taranaki (2.5 per 1000 live births).

Age

• The majority of infant deaths (64.9%) occurred before one month of age, with more than half of these occurring within 24 hours of birth.

Sex

• In 2010, the male infant death rate was 6.2 deaths per 1000 live births, compared to a rate of 4.8 for female infants.

Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)

• There were 27 deaths from SIDS in 2010. Most of these (74.1%) occurred before 4 months of age.
• There were 15 male deaths and 12 female deaths.

Sudden unexpected death of an infant (SUDI)

• There were 59 SUDI deaths in 2010. Most of these (72.9%) occurred before 4 months of age.
• There were 36 male deaths and 23 female deaths.