Why Is This Important?

Mortality during the neonatal period accounts for a large proportion of child deaths, and is considered to be a useful indicator of maternal and newborn neonatal health and care.[https://www.who.int/data/gho/indicator-metadata-registry/imr-details/67 ^1^]

Definition

Neonatal mortality is the death of an infant before 28 days of age. The neonatal mortality rate is the number of neonatal deaths per 1,000 live births. Infant mortality is death within the first year of life. It is divided into two components: death before the 28th day of life is neonatal mortality; death between 28 days and one year is postneonatal mortality.

Data Notes

Data Sources

• Birth Certificate Database, Office of Vital Statistics and Registry, New Jersey Department of Health
  (https://www.nj.gov/health/vital/)
• Linked Infant Death-Birth Database, Center for Health Statistics, New Jersey Department of Health
  (https://www.nj.gov/health/chs/)
• Linked Birth/Infant Death Records, CDC WONDER On-line Database, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
  (https://wonder.cdc.gov/lbd.html)

How the Measure is Calculated

• Numerator:

  Number of resident deaths occurring under 28 days of age

• Denominator:

  Number of live births to resident mothers

Related Health Objectives and Indicators

Related Health Care System Factors Indicators:

• No Prenatal Care
• First Trimester Prenatal Care

Related Risk Factors Indicators:

• Anencephaly
• Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome
• Low Birth Weight
• Multiple Births
• Tobacco Use During Pregnancy
• Preterm Births
• Tetralogy of Fallot
• Transposition of the Great Arteries

Related Health Status Outcomes Indicators:

• Infant Mortality
• Perinatal Mortality
• Postneonatal Mortality
• Fetal Mortality

Health Topic Pages Related to: Neonatal Mortality

• Birth Outcomes and Infant Health