Overview of Infant Mortality in Alagoas - Brazil

The infant mortality rate (IMR), is considered one of the most efficient indicators of a population’s social and economic development. In Brazil, the infant mortality rate showed 19,3 deaths/1000 live births in 2009. This rate is still higher than the acceptable value set by the World Health Organization (WHO).

In the state of Alagoas, the infant mortality rate decreased by 48,17% between 2000 and 2009. The decrease in infant mortality is attributable to improvement in basic environmental sanitation, expanded access to basic health services, immunization, promotion of breastfeeding, greater coverage of prenatal care, and some other social programs.

The aim of this study was to compare infant mortality rates in the State of Alagoas, Brazil, from 2010 to 2011, in a transversal study, by means of data analysis.

From January to September of 2010 there were 598 deaths in children under one year of age. At the same period of 2011, there were 567 deaths. This represents 5,19% of decrease. There was a decrease of 11% for early neonatal mortality in 2011, while rates of late neonatal and post-neonatal mortality remained almost unchanged from one year to another (88 and 185 in 2010; 89 and 189 in 2011, respectively).

In respect to distribution of the principal causes of infants deaths, the leading causes were evitable in both years. There was a decrease of 18,51% in evitable causes from 2010 to 2011. No cases of immunepreventable causes of death were registered until September of 2011 in Alagoas.

In the group of evitable causes of deaths, the most important decrease (12,08%) was in reducible causes by actions of early prevention, diagnosis and treatment. That represents an improvement to the access and follow up of children in the first year of life.