Infant Mortality in North Carolina
Causes and risk factors
In North Carolina, the leading causes of infant deaths
in 2006 were:
(from  North
Carolina State Center for Health Statistics)
- Prematurity and low birthweight (birth before 37 weeks
of gestation and weight less than 5 ½ pounds at
birth, respectively)
- Birth defects
- Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)
Conditions originating in the perinatal period and respiratory
distress are also major contributors to infant death.
Risk Factors for Infant Mortality
Research has identified some key risk factors contributing
to high-risk pregnancies and infant deaths:
- Previous premature or low birthweight baby
- Less than optimal health before a woman becomes pregnant
- Smoking during pregnancy
- Exposure to secondhand smoke during pregnancy
- Inadequate nutrition and insufficient intake of folic
acid (a B vitamin) before and during pregnancy
- Using street drugs and alcohol during pregnancy
- Baby's exposure to secondhand smoke after birth
- Infant sleeping on his stomach
- Close spacing between pregnancies
- Infections - including reproductive tract infections,
sexually transmitted diseases and periodontal (oral) infections
during pregnancy
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Last updated: September 2007
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