Portugal’s number of infant mortalities is back where it stood in 2016. For under one year olds, 60 more died in 2018 than in the previous year, taking the figures back to those witnessed in 2016.
Considering the data, “troubling," the head of the Order of Physicians demanded that the Directorate General of Health analyses the causes of the deaths.
The 26% increase in the number of deaths was put into context by the Director-General of Health, Graça Freitas, "the number of infant deaths in 2018 is not significantly reflected in the infant mortality rate since there were also more live births,” noting that the 2018 figure was, "similar to the one verified in 2016."
Noting that since 1965 there has been a "marked decrease" in this indicator, Graça Freitas recalls that the infant mortality rate has stabilised since 2013, "at three deaths per thousand live births." She also stressed that in 2016, 282 children died in the first year of life, a rate of 3.24 per thousand live births, which put Portugal, "among the best countries in the European Union,” where the average is 3.6.
Considering that the numbers are "worrisome," Miguel Guimarães from the Order of Physicians, urged the health department, "to finalise its report in order to obtain the final conclusions of the causes of death, in order to evaluate and act on this problem."
"We know that the increase in the average age of motherhood and the greater use of fertility treatments can have some negative impact on infant mortality, but this increase deserves a quick analysis by the Ministry of Health to avoid a climate of distrust among users in relation to the health system," said Guimarães.
The president of the Pediatrics College of the Medical Association argues that it is necessary to wait and evaluate the data more rigorously.
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