In 2010 in the NT, the infant mortality rate for males was 7.9 infant deaths per 1,000 live births. This was higher than the rate of 6.5 in 2009 and significantly lower than the rate of 12.4 in 2000.
At the same time, the rate for females was 6.4, a decrease on the rate of 7.7 in 2009 and a significant decrease on the rate of 11.0 in 2000.
The infant mortality rate for all babies in the NT in 2010 was 7.2, compared to the Australian rate of 4.1. The male, female and total infant mortality rates were all the highest of any state or territory.
How is the infant mortality rate for your state or territory derived?
The survival of infants in their first year of life is commonly viewed as an indicator of the general health and wellbeing of a population. A low infant mortality rate is a major contributor to increased life expectancy.
The main source of data for this indicator is the ABS Deaths collection, compiled from data provided by the Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages in each state and territory. An infant death is the death of a child before its first birthday. The infant mortality rate is the number of deaths in a calendar year of children aged under one year per 1,000 live births in the same calendar year.
The improved survival of babies in Australia in the last century, as in many other developed countries, has been associated mainly with the decline of infectious diseases, along with growing preventative health measures and public health programs. Further improvements in the second half of the century were largely due to improved medical technology and education campaigns about the importance of immunisation and most recently, in the case of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), infant sleeping position. Improvements in neonatal intensive care in the 1970s also played a major role in the continued decline in infant mortality in the latter part of the century.
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