Infant mortality rate in three parishes of Western Jamaica, 1980

However, in recent years, perhaps due to under-registration of deaths, the infant mortality rates of Jamaica, particularly of certain parishes, have been so low as to make their reliability questionable. This study sought to establish the infant mortality rates for the parishes of St. James, Hanover, and Trelawny during 1980. Information on infant deaths in 1980 was sought from a variety of sources, as was information on live births in the same year. Fewer than half of all infant deaths appeared to have been registered in 1980 in the parishes studied. The infant mortality rate for 1980 was 27 per thousand live births for the three parishes combined. The apparent under-registration of infant deaths is discussed. (Author abstract)