Birth outcomes and infant mortality by income in urban Canada, 1986

For 1986, 219,470 live births were reported for residents of Canada's 25 Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs). For each of these births, street address information as shown on the birth registration was used to code the census tract where the mother lived. Data by census tract were obtained for 1,650 infant deaths in 1986, and from the 1986 census for the population of 4,727,770 women aged 10-49 in 1986. Births, infant deaths and census population data (adjusted for undercount) were then used to calculate rates of infant mortality, low birth weight (LBW), very low birth weight (VLBW), prematurity, small for gestational age (SGA), and total fertility. The results are presented by neighborhood income quintile group (based on percentage of low income), and by the mother's age, parity (number of live births), marital status and country of birth, as well as by CMA.