Chapter 7 Infographic: Perinatal Loss in Canada

Organization: Public Health Agency of Canada

Date published: 2020-12-16

Related Topics

• Chapter 7: Loss and grief
• Chapter 7 Fact sheet: Family-Centred Care for Families who Experience Perinatal Loss
• Family-Centred Maternity and Newborn Care: National Guidelines
• Fact sheets and infographics: Maternity and newborn care

• 15.7% of couples have problems with fertility
• 15% to 25% of pregnancies end in a miscarriage
• Ectopic pregnancy occurs in approximately 1-2% of diagnosed pregnancies

• In 2014:
  • Overall fetal mortality rate was 8.1 per 1,000 total births
  • Fetal mortality rate for multiple births (13.5 per 1,000 total births) was much higher than among singleton births (4.8 per 1,000 total births)
  • Congenital anomalies rate was for 430.5 per 10,000 live births
  • Preterm birth rate (<37 weeks) was 8.1 per 100 live births
  • Very preterm birth rate (<32 weeks) was 1.2 per 100 live births

• In 2011:
  • Infant mortality rate was 5.0 per 1,000 live births
  • Neonatal mortality rate was 3.6 per 1,000 live births
  • Post-neonatal mortality rate was 1.4 per 1,000 neonatal survivors

• The leading causes of:
  • Infant deaths:
    • Immaturity (29.6%),
    • Congenital anomalies (21.7%)
    • Other/unknown (20.3%)
  • Neonatal deaths:
    • Immaturity (37.6%)
    • Congenital anomalies (21.4%)
    • Other/unknown (20.5%)
  • Post-neonatal deaths:
    • Congenital anomalies (22.3%)
    • Other/unknown (19.7%)
    • Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) (19.6%)

• Preterm birth rates among:
  • Singleton was 6.3 per 100 live births
  • Twin was 56.7 per 100 live births
  • Triplet or higher order was 93.8 per 100 live births

For references, consult Chapter 7: Loss and Grief in Public Health Agency of Canada. Family-Centred Maternity and Newborn Care: National Guidelines. Ottawa (ON): PHAC; 2020.