The French infant mortality rate continues to increase, with 2,700 children less than a year who died in 2024, according to a Insee study published on Thursday, April 10. France is one of the countries of the European Union, which are less classified in this area. Since 2011, this infant mortality rate has “increased slightly”, moving from 3.5 deaths for 1,000 children born alive to 4.1 per thousand in 2024.
“This means that in 250 children he dies before his first birthday,” said Insee. “A quarter of these deaths take place on the day of birth, half of half of 1 and 27 days of life, a quarter in the post-neonatal period, which occurs from 28 days less than a year.”
Boys more affected than girls
It is likely that boys die 1.2 times more to die due to the age of a year than girls, due to a greater risk of birth complications. They are also more affected by genetic diseases.
Multiple delivery children, such as twins or thunderstorms, are more likely to die before the age of one year than other children.
The “risk is also higher for mothers, employees, workers, very young or very old,” adds Insee. On the other hand, it is “lower for mothers aged 26 to 37”.
Infant mortality also affects departments abroad than France, “poverty is more widespread, which can influence the child’s health” and women who know “more health problems,” explains information.
A higher infant mortality rate than the EU average
According to the Institute, “The Progress of Medicine”, which has allowed the children who once were still and, therefore, were not counted in living births, “survive for a few hours or days after birth, have been able to have a slight impact on the increase in infant mortality since 2011”.
Since 2015, the infant mortality rate in France has been higher than the average of the European Union: in 2023, it reached 3.3 per thousand on average in the EU, against 4 per thousand in France, according to Insee.
In 2022, France classified 23 in the 27 states of the European Union in terms of infant mortality, according to a study conducted by the National Institute of Demographic Studies (INED) published in March.
Given this continuous trend, Health Minister Catherine Vautrin announced on Monday, April 7 her desire to “create a National Registry of Infant Mortality” to know “the causes” of this increase.
Source: BFM TV
