Infant mortality and low birthweight, 1975 to 1995.

OBJECTIVES This article examines trends in infant mortality and the incidence of low birthweight from 1975 to 1995. DATA SOURCES The data are from the Canadian Vital Statistics Data Base, compiled from information provided to Statistics Canada by the Vital Statistics Registries in each province and territory. ANALYTICAL TECHNIQUES Death rates, stillbirth rates, and the incidence of low birthweight were calculated for Canada, the provinces, and territories from 1975 to 1995. To examine the impact of changes in maternal characteristics during the period, the incidence of low birthweight was standardized by age and marital status of mothers, using the 1985 distributions. MAIN RESULTS The pace of decline in infant and perinatal mortality has slowed in recent years. This slowdown may, at least in part, be attributed to the increase in the incidence of low birthweight. In turn, some of the increase in the incidence of low birthweight is explained by the rising proportions of births to women aged 35 and older and to unmarried women.