Acknowledgement

The researchers would like to express their sincere gratitude to their instructor Ms.

Giecel Venice Mogol for the continuous support of their study and research, for her

patience, motivation, enthusiasm, and immense knowledge. Her guidance helped the

researchers in all the time of research and writing of this research paper. Besides their

instructor, the researcher would like to thank their friends for helping them, for the

sleepless nights they were working together before deadlines. Also the researchers would

like to thank their family, and Almighty God for the support and inspiration.
 Methodology

The descriptive method of research was used in this study. Descriptive method of

research is a fact-finding study with sufficient and accurate interpretation of the findings.

It describes with emphasis what actually exist such as current conditions, practices,

situations, or any phenomena. Since the study or investigation was only concerned about

neonatal mortality, the whole research is only focusing attention on it. The descriptive

method was the most appropriate or fitted to use. The method of collecting data used was

through sorting documents and references through the help of the relevant reference

works like encyclopedias, dictionaries and some journals regarding acne and by using

internet that provides new updated information about certain topic. The researchers did

the mechanics of gathering source materials, taking notes, and documenting sources with

a deeper analysis and interpretation. The other instrument used to collect data was the

survey. The survey was given to the adults to fill up for validation. It was given to them

because they are the only available respondents and fitted to the study. The needed data

were completed and had been validated. The copies of the survey were distributed

personally by the researchers to the respondents. Just after the few minutes, all the copies

distributed were retrieved also personally by the researchers.

 Abstract

An infant mortality rate (IMR) is considered a primary and important indicator of a

geographic areas (country, state) overall health status or quality of life. It is defined as

deaths under one year of age in a year per 1000 live births. Reduction of infant mortality

has been one of the key issues for the government. It has been criticized as a measure of

population health because it is narrowly based and likely to focus the attention of health

policy on a small part of the population to the exclusion of the rest.

The aim of this research paper is to clear out the misconceptions about the causes of

neonatal mortality and inform the readers about it and to measure infant mortality rate,

investigate risk factors for infant deaths and identify causes of death of babies.
 Introduction

A neonatal death is defined as a death during the first 28 days of life (0-27 days).

Number of neonatal deaths in a given population and reference period and number of live

births in the same population and reference. Infant mortality refers to deaths of young

children, typically those less than one year of age. It is measured by the infant mortality

rate (IMR), which is the number of deaths of children under one year of age per 1000 live

births.

The leading causes of infant mortality are birth asphyxia, pneumonia, term birth

complication, neonatal infection, diarrhea, malaria, measles and malnutrition. Many

factors contribute to infant mortality, such as the mother's level of education,

environmental conditions, and political and medical infrastructure. Improving sanitation,

access to clean drinking water, immunization against infectious diseases, and other public

health measures can help reduce high rates of infant mortality. Low birth weight also

contributes significantly to infant mortality in developing nations. Children born with

lower weights are more than forty times more likely to die within the first year.

Infant mortality rates can be seen as measures of a nations health and social

conditions. Infant mortality rates are lowest in northern and Western

Europe, Japan, Australia, Canada, and the United States. However, infant mortality rates

are highest in nations such as Afghanistan, Angola, Chad and Somalia.

 Review of Related Literature

The death of a baby before his or her first birthday is called infant mortality. The

infant mortality rate is the number of infant deaths that occur for every 1,000 live births.

This rate is often used as an indicator to measure the health and well-being of a nation,

because factors affecting the health of entire populations can also impact the mortality

rate of infants. There are significant differences in infant mortality by race and ethnicity;

for instance, the mortality rate for black infants is more than twice that of white infants.

Most newborns grow and thrive. However, for every 1,000 babies that are born,

almost six die during their first year. Most of these babies die as a result of birth defects,

preterm birth, maternal complications of pregnancy, sudden infant death syndrome, and

injuries.

Pregnancy outcomes are influenced by a womans health and differ by factors such

as race, ethnicity, age, location, health care access, education, and income. Preconception

health focuses on actions women can take before and between pregnancies to increase

their chances of having a healthy baby, including thinking about their goals for having or

not having children and how to achieve those goals, addressing health issues with their

health care provider before getting pregnant, and adopting a healthy lifestyle.

Health care providers and women can work together before and during pregnancy to

address problems if they arise and improve womens chances for healthy outcomes.

Some women may be advised to give birth at special hospitals, especially if they are at

risk of delivering a very small or very sick baby. These hospitals have staff and

equipment needed to provide advanced newborn life support and medical services.
 Recommendation

To reduce the risk of SIDS, infants should be placed for sleep in a supine position

(wholly on the back) for every sleep by every caregiver until the child reaches 1 year of

age. Side sleeping is not safe and is not advised. Infants should be placed on a firm sleep

surface (eg, mattress in a safety-approved crib) covered by a fitted sheet with no other

bedding or soft objects to reduce the risk of SIDS and suffocation. Breastfeeding is

associated with a reduced risk of SIDS. Unless contraindicated, mothers should

breastfeed exclusively or feed with expressed milk

It is recommended that infants sleep in the parents room, close to the parents bed,

but on a separate surface designed for infants, ideally for the first year of life, but at least

for the first 6 months. Keep soft objects and loose bedding away from the infants sleep

area to reduce the risk of SIDS, suffocation, entrapment, and strangulation. Consider

offering a pacifier at nap time and bedtime. Avoid smoke exposure during pregnancy and

after birth. Avoid alcohol and illicit drug use during pregnancy and after birth. Avoid

overheating and head covering in infants.

Pregnant women should obtain regular prenatal care. Infants should be immunized

in accordance with recommendations of the AAP and Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention. Avoid the use of commercial devices that are inconsistent with safe sleep

recommendations. Do not use home cardiorespiratory monitors as a strategy to reduce the

risk of SIDS.
 Conclusion

Infant mortality is a complex and multifactorial problem that has proved resistant to

intervention efforts. Continued increases in preterm and low birth weight delivery present

major challenges to further improvement in the infant mortality rate. Infant mortality is

an important indicator of the health of a nation, as it is associated with a variety of factors

such as maternal health, quality and access to medical care, socioeconomic conditions,

and public health practices.

Considerable care should be taken in the assessment of changes and differences in

infant mortality rates. While it may be tempting to attribute credit to programs and blame

to social factors, e.g., rising drug use, it is important to recognize that multiple factors are

continuously influencing infant mortality patterns. Nevertheless, infant mortality remains

a topic of intense political interest and there are myriad pressures to establish the "cause"

of annual fluctuation in rates. This interest is justified, as the loss of an infant is a

wrenching personal family tragedy and should be reason for societal involvement and

concern.