Central Visayas recorded more than one thousand registered infant deaths in 2018

Infant deaths are deaths that occurred before reaching age 1. At national level 21,019 infant deaths were registered. Central Visayas ranked fourth with 1,540 or 7.3 percent in terms of highest number of registered infant deaths. (See Table 1)

Proportion of Infant deaths to total deaths by province/HUCs

Across provinces of Region 7, the province of Cebu had the highest proportion of infant deaths that occurred with 609 or 3.3 percent shares of the total number of deaths in the province, followed by Bohol with 258 or 2.8 percent and Negros Oriental with 249 or 2.9 percent contribution of the total deaths occurrence. The province with least number of infant deaths was Siquijor with only 13. This accounts to 1.5 percent of the total deaths in the province which may be indicative of less population. On the other hand, for highly urbanized cities, the City of Cebu had the highest number of infant deaths occurred with 234 or 3.6 percent from the total number of deaths occurred compared to the City of Lapu-Lapu and City of Mandaue with 86 or 4.3 percent and 91 or 5.1 percent respectively, However, the City of Cebu had the least percentage of infant deaths occurred from the total deaths occurred among the highly urbanized cities. (See Figure 1)

Region VII polls more male infant deaths occurrence in 2018

Of the total infant deaths in Central Visayas, 59 percent are male or 902 number of male infant deaths occurred while 41 percent are female or 638 number of female infant deaths. Infant deaths contributed to only 3.2 percent of the total deaths occurred in the region.  (See Figure 2 and 3)

Infant Deaths by Attendant in Central Visayas, 2018

75 percent of the registered infant deaths in Central Visayas were attended, 58 percent or 888 number of infant deaths were attended by the hospital authorities, 10 percent or 148 infant deaths were attended by a public health officer and 7 percent or 118 infant deaths were attended by a private physician. (See Figure 4)

Fetal Deaths in Central Visayas year 2018

Fetal death is a death prior to the complete expulsion or extraction from its mother of a product of conception, irrespective of the duration of pregnancy. Death is indicated by the fact that after such separation, the fetus does not breathe or show any other evidence of life, such as beating of the heart, pulsation of the umbilical cord or definite movement of voluntary muscles. A total of 896 fetal deaths or 10.4 percent of the 8,594-total number of registered fetal deaths in the Philippines was recorded in Central Visayas for the year 2018. The province with the highest number of reported fetal deaths is in the province of Cebu with 335, which contributes to 37.4 percent from of the total number of registered fetal deaths in the region. Among the highly urbanized cities in the region, the City of Cebu had the highest number of fetal deaths with 207 which contributed 23.1 percent from the total registered infant deaths. Fetal deaths contributed to only 1.9 percent of the total registered deaths in the region. (See Figure 5)

Fetal and Infant Deaths by month of occurrence

The highest number of registered fetal deaths was recorded in the month of November with 107 or 11.9 percent of the total registered fetal deaths in the region while the month with lowest number of fetal deaths occurrence was in the month of April with 47 or 5.2 percent. On the other hand, the highest number of infant deaths occurrence was recorded in the month of October with 173 or 11.2 percent from the total number of infant deaths in the region. The month with the lowest number of registered infant deaths was the month of May with 102 or 6.6 percent of the total infant deaths in the region.  (See Figure 6)

Central Visayas reported more than 200 hundred registered maternal deaths in 2018

Maternal Death is the death of a woman while pregnant or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy, irrespective of the duration and site of the pregnancy, from any cause related to or aggravated by the pregnancy or its management but not from accidental or incidental causes. In 2018, 230 maternal deaths were recorded in Region 7. This contributes to 14.2 percent of the 1,616 of total number of registered maternal deaths in the country. The highest number of maternal deaths was recorded in the age group of 25-29 with 58 or 25.2 percent of the total registered maternal deaths occurrence in the region. (See Figure 7)

Technical Notes:

Vital statistics » are derived from information obtained at the time when the occurrences of vital events and their characteristics are inscribed in a civil register. Vital acts and events are the births, deaths, fetal deaths, marriages, and all such events that have something to do with an individual's entrance and departure from life together with the changes in civil status that may occur to a person during his lifetime.

Death » refers to the permanent disappearance of all evidence of life at any time after live birth has taken place.

Maternal Death » is the death of a woman while pregnant or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy, irrespective of the duration and site of the pregnancy, from any cause related to or aggravated by the pregnancy or its management but not from accidental or incidental causes.

Infant Death are deaths that occurred before reaching age 1.

Fetal Death » is a death prior to the complete expulsion or extraction from its mother of a product of conception, irrespective of the duration of pregnancy; the death is indicated by the fact that after such separation the fetus does not breathe or show any other evidence of life, such as beating of the heart, pulsation of the umbilical cord, or definite movement of voluntary muscle.

Place of Usual Residence » refers to the place where the person habitually or permanently resides.

Place of Occurrence » refers to the place where the vital event took place.

Approved by:

(SGD.) ARIEL E. FLORENDO
Regional Director