Infant mortality

Infant mortality is the death of a child less than one year of age. It is measured as 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 complications, 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 could help reduce high rates of infant mortality.

Child mortality is the death of a child before the child's fifth birthday, measures as the Under-5 Child Mortality Rate (U5MR). National statistics sometimes group these two mortality rates together. Globally, ten million infants and children die each year before their fifth birthday; 99% of these deaths occur in developing nations. Infant mortality takes away society's potential physical, social, and human capital.