Fetal and Infant Mortality Reduction
About Infant Mortality
Infant mortality is defined as the death of an infant less than one year old. Tennessee Department of Health calculates this metric as the number of deaths per 1,000 live births within one year. The infant mortality rate of the Unites States in 2017 was 5.8 deaths per 1,000 live births ranking it 55th in the world for highest infant mortality. Tennessee had a higher infant mortality rate than that of the Unites States averaging 7.2 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2018. This translated to one infant death every 15 hours in the states- ranking Tennessee 11th in the nation for highest rate of infant mortality. In Tennessee and across the United States, non-Hispanic black infants are at roughly twice the risk of infant mortality than white infants. This has been true for over a century, despite overall reductions in infant mortality of nearly 95% since 1915.
Over 22,000 infants died in the United States in 2017. Lead drivers of infant death included: birth defects, preterm birth, maternal pregnancy complications, sudden infant death syndrome, and injuries. Similar issues emerge when looking at the drivers of infant mortality in Tennessee which include birth defects, preterm birth and low birth weight, sleep-related death, and cardiovascular disease.
Fetal Infant Mortality Review
Fetal and Infant Mortality Review (FIMR) is an action-oriented evidence based community review process that reviews fetal and infant deaths, works at the community level to formulate programs and influence policy that will lead to improving birth outcomes. The goal is to assess, monitor, and work to improve service systems and community resources for women, infants, and families.
Currently, there are FIMR projects in Davidson County, Hamilton County, Knox County and Shelby County.
In 2018, infant mortality reduction stakeholders met to update the Infant Mortality Strategic Plan. The new updated plan from 2018-2023 can be found HERE.
- A team is notified of a fetal or infant death through either hospital notification or vital records.
- Information about the infant death is gathered. Sources include public health and medical records.
- An interview with the mother who has suffered the loss is conducted, if the mother agrees. Professionals with training in grief counseling assess the needs of the family and refer to bereavement support and community resources.
- The Case Review Team composed of health, social service and other experts from the community review this summary of case information and the interview, identify issues and make recommendations for community change, if appropriate.
- The Community Action Team, a diverse group of community leaders, review Case Review Team recommendations, prioritize identified issues, then design and implement interventions to improve service systems and resources.
CONFIDENTIALITY:
Confidentiality of all information is strictly maintained. This means the names of the mother, provider, and institution are removed.