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Please add ALL children who “Died Young” (or similar) or are OVER 2 years to this project.
- If the cause of death is known & there is a project for it, please be sure to add the child that cause also, i.e. an infection, accident, etc.
- If there isn't a project for the cause of death listed, please utilize this discussion: Cause of Death Projects needed???
If the child was UNDER 2 years please add the profile to the Infant Deaths project.
If the baby was premature add to the Premature Baby Deaths project.
- (There is a project for Premature Baby Survivals.)
Pediatric care may begin periconceptionally and continues through gestation, infancy (birth - 2 yrs), childhood (2-12 yrs), adolescence (12-21 yrs), and young adulthood.
- The American Academy of Pediatrics has previously published a statement on the age limit of pediatrics in 1988, which was reaffirmed in 2012 and identified the upper age limit as 21 years with a note that exceptions could be made when the pediatrician and family agree to an older age, particularly in the case of a child with special health care needs.
The death of a child is a tragedy for family and friends, and a loss to the community.
- Unintentional injuries are the leading cause of death among children and youth, accounting for more than a quarter of all deaths among children ages 1 to 4, 5 to 9,and 10 to 14, and more than 1 in 3 of deaths among teens ages 15 to 19.
- Among infants, the leading causes of death include congenital and chromosomal abnormalities, problems related to short gestation and low birthweight, maternal complications of pregnancy, and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
- Children are much more likely to die during the first year of life than they are at later ages.
- Death rates for boys are substantially higher than rates for girls in every age group.
- In 2014, consistent patterns by race and Hispanic origin (with the exception of American Indians) were evident for children in all age groups: black children had the highest rates of death, while Asian/Pacific Islander children had the lowest rates. Rates for Hispanic and white children fell in-between, with rates higher for whites. Trends in rates for American Indian children were inconsistent across age groups.
- From: Unicef - Under-Five Mortality
- Globally, the under-five mortality rate dropped from 93 deaths per 1,000 live births in 1990 to 41 in 2016. Progress in reducing child mortality has been accelerated in the 2000–2016 period compared with the 1990s – globally, the annual rate of reduction in the under-five mortality rate has increased from 1.9 per cent in 1990–2000 to 4.0 per cent in 2000–2016. The remarkable progress in improving child survival since 2000 has saved the lives of 50 million children under age 5 – children who would have died had under-five mortality remained at the same level as in 2000 in each country.
- Child mortality, also known as under-5 mortality or child death, refers to the death of children under the age of five or between the age of one month to four years depending on the definition. Many deaths in developing countries go unreported since many poor families cannot afford to register their babies in the government registry.
- Globally in 2013, 3.7 million children aged one month to 4 years of age died, down from 7.6 million in 1990. About half of child deaths occur in Sub-Saharan Africa. Reduction of child mortality is the fourth of the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals which were replaced in 2015 by the Sustainable Development Goals. In 2015 an estimated 5.9 million children died before their fifth birthday, 45% of them during the first 28 days of life.
From: World Vision - Child mortality: Top causes, best solutions, by Chris Huber, updated 13 Jan 2016
The leading causes of death of children under five include:
- Preterm birth (18%),
- Pneumonia (16%),
- Birth defects (13%),
- Newborn infections, malaria, sepsis, measles (13 %),
- Birth complications (11%), Diarrhea (9%), &
- Malnutrition (underlying cause of 45% according to WHO).
From:
Causes of child mortality in 2016
- The leading causes of death among children under five were preterm birth complications, acute respiratory infections, intrapartum-related complications, congenital anomalies and diarrhea.
- Infant mortality: 4.2 million (75% of all under-five deaths) occurred with in the first year of life.
- Under-five mortality: 5.6 million children under age five died
- Mortality among children aged 5-14: 3000 children aged 5-14 died every day
From: CDC - Child Health
- Children aged 1-4 years in 2015: 3,965 deaths; 24.9 deaths per 100,000
- Children aged 5-14 years in 2015: 5,411 deaths; 13.2 deaths per 100,000
- Leading causes of Death:
- Children aged 1-4 yrs: Accidents (unintentional injuries); Congenital malformations, deformations & chromosomal abnormalities; Assault (homicide).
- Children aged 5-14 yrs: Accidents (unintentional injuries); Cancer; Intentional self-harm (suicide)
Resources & Additional Reading:
- American Academy of Pediatrics - Age limit of Pediatrics. By Amy Peykoff Hardin, MD,FAAP, Jesse M Hackell, MD, FAAP; 2015-2016
- EMSWorld - Causes of Pediatric Deaths (2005)
- Wikipedia - Child mortality
- Wikipedia - List of countries by infant and under-five mortality rates. (Based on statistics in 2016.)
- [https://www.childtrends.org/indicators/infant-child-and-teen-mortal... Child Trends - Infant, Child, and Teen mortality
- The Borgen Project - the Blog - Causes of Child Mortality in Developing Countries
- Global Citizen - The Top 10 Causes of Death for Children Around the World. (Compiled by the Just Actions campaign, based on data from Global Burden of Disease, 2013, and recommendations and information from the World Health Organization.)
- World Vision - Child mortality: Top causes, best solutions, by Chris Huber, updated 13 Jan 2016
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