Black Infant Mortality Rate Declines, But Remains Nearly Three Times the White Rate
- Wisconsin’s black infant mortality rate declined in 2010 to 13.9 (deaths per 1,000 births to black/African American women), compared to 14.3 in 2009 and 16.8 in 2000.
- Although that trend is encouraging, the black infant mortality rate in 2010 was still nearly 3 times the white rate of 4.9 deaths (which has dropped from 5.6 in 2000).
- The Hispanic/Latino infant mortality rate for 2010 was 4.4 (per 1,000), compared to 5.5 in 2009 and 4.7 in 2000.
- Based on three-year rolling averages, the American Indian infant mortality has dropped sharply over the last two decades. The 3-year average rate was 7.3 (per 1,000) in 2008-2010, which was less than half the rate of 15.8 in the 1988-90 period.
- The disparity ratio between the black infant mortality rate and the white rate increased from 2.2 in 1990-1992 to 2.7 in 2008-2010. (The disparity ratio is the black infant mortality rate divided by the white rate.)
Some of the other statistics that caught my eye in the 120-page report include the following:
- Wisconsin’s teen birth rate continues to decline – falling in 2010 to 26.2 (births per 1,000 females ages 15-19), compared to 29.3 in 2009 and 42 in 1990, and it remains well below the national rate which was 41.5 in 2008 (the most current national data).
- Since 1990, the birth rate for black/African American women decreased 28 percent (to about 80 per 1,000 in 2010), while the white rate fell by almost 5 percent. During that period, the Asian birth rate decreased 34 percent (to 78.5 per 1,000 Asian females aged 15-44).
- In 2010, 13 percent of Wisconsin women who gave birth had not finished high school, compared to 16 percent in 2000.
- The overall proportion of women who received first-trimester prenatal care finished the decade where it started, at 84 percent in 2010, which is disappointing.
- The proportion of women giving birth who reported they smoked during pregnancy decreased from 16 percent in 2000 to 13 percent in 2010.
- The overall percent of cesarean sections increased from 17.6 percent of births in 1990 to 26.1 percent in 2010.
Based on the continuing high racial disparities in birth outcomes, I hope that at some point in the not-too-distant future, legislators can dust off the numerous recommendations for reducing infant mortality that were not approved by the Legislative Council on January 18, and will advance a comprehensive package of measures for improving birth outcomes and reducing the stubborn divide between the races.