A 70% decrease in infant mortality rates in Israel from 1979 to 2004

Over the years, a ratio of 1:2 has been maintained in the infant mortality rates of Arabs compared to Jews * Infant mortality rates in multiple pregnancies are 6 times higher than in single births

Infant mortality decreased between 1979 and 2004 by 70%, from 15.2 per 1,000 live births to 4.8 per 1,000 live births. Among Jews the rate dropped from 12.5 to 3.4 (a decrease of about 73%) and among Arabs from 23.5 to 8.2 (a decrease of about 65%). Despite the significant decrease in the infant mortality rates in both population groups, a ratio of 1:2 in the infant mortality rate among Arabs compared to Jews has been maintained, with some fluctuation over the years. Mortality in the first month of life (neonatal period) decreased in those years by 80% among the Jewish population and 60% among the Arab population. Infant mortality between the ages of one month and one year (the postneonatal period) decreased during that period by 70% among both population groups.

This is according to data that will soon be published, in a special publication of the Central Bureau of Statistics - "Infant Mortality 1997-2004, Demographic - Social Characteristics". The data presented in the publication are cohort data of births and deaths of the newborns before they reach the age of one year, this is in contrast to the periodic incidence data of infant mortality that are regularly presented in other publications of the Central Bureau of Statistics.

Infant mortality by age of death
The data also shows that almost half of infant mortality occurs in the first week of life and almost 20% of infant mortality occurs between the ages of one week and one month. Among Jews, 52% of mortality occurs in the first week and about 20% between the ages of one week and one month. Among Arabs, mortality is relatively later, only about 42% of mortality occurs in the first week and about 16% between the ages of one week and one month. The distribution of infant mortality according to the dates of death has not changed over the years and the distribution at the beginning of the 25s is similar to that of XNUMX years ago.

Infant mortality by maternal age
Newborns born to mothers younger than 20 or to mothers older than 40 are at higher risk of death than newborns born to mothers 39-20. The maternal age group with the lowest infant mortality rates is 30-34. In the early 25s, infant mortality for women who gave birth at the age of 29-30 was the lowest. Infant mortality rates for mothers who gave birth at the age of 34-20 are more than half lower than for mothers who gave birth before the age of 4.1 (1,000 per 8.8 live births compared to 1,000 per 40 live births), and by 40% compared to mothers at the age of 44-7.0 (1,000 per XNUMX live births live).

Multiple births
About 4.5% of all live births in the years 2001-2004 were births with multiple fetuses. A newborn born with multiple fetuses has an almost 6 times greater risk of dying in the first year of life than a newborn born with a singleton. Among Jews, the risk of a multiple birth newborn dying in the first year of life is almost 8 times higher than a single birth newborn, while among Arabs the risk is only 4.5 times greater. The mortality rates of babies born with multiple pregnancies are particularly high in the first week after birth.

causes of death
The main causes of infant mortality in 1997-2004 were perinatal conditions (disorders related to pregnancy, the birth process and the immediate post-birth period) and birth defects (45% and 24% of the total deaths respectively). Among Jews, the proportion of mortality due to perinatal conditions is higher (56%) compared to the proportion among Arabs (33%), while the proportion of mortality from birth defects is lower (22% among Jews compared to 31% among Arabs). In the years 2001-2004, 92 cases of cot death were recorded (a rate of 0.2 per 1,000 live births) compared to 246 cases in the years 1990-1993 (a rate of 0.6 per 1,000 live births).