KEY POINTS:
The infant mortality rate in New Zealand continues its 40-year drop, but trails that of many other Western nations.
The year to March rate of 5.3 deaths for babies younger than one, out of 1000 live births, is a marked improvement from 1968's rate of 18.2, Statistics New Zealand figures showed yesterday.
Despite a slight rise since 2006 from 5.1 to 5.3, the rate is in line with a continuing downward trend, the Ministry of Health said yesterday.
Slight statistical blips from year-to-year brought about the occasional rise, but a series of schemes and programmes had dropped the rate from 1998's rate of 6.3.
The Ministry of Health's chief adviser for child and youth health, Pat Tuohy, said yesterday campaigns to reduce cot-death in the 90s and infant infectious diseases in the past decade and increases to technology and maternity advice services, had played their part in the downward trend.
The nation's neonatal intensive care units had improved dramatically, the Well Child campaign was showing huge benefits, while education programmes and the Working for Families package were all helping, he said.
Despite that, Dr Tuohy said he was not content with the results.
The UK and Australia were reporting better figures than New Zealand, and some European countries posting infant mortality rates below 0.3 per cent, so there was a lot of work to do.
"I'm not comfortable with where we're at. I'm happy that we're improving, but we've got more to do.
"If the Australians and the UK can get down to the fours, then we can get there as well."
Dr Tuohy said the Scandinavian countries had a different culture to New Zealand. They put more emphasis on parental responsibility, and had less poverty than New Zealand.
To reach rates like theirs, huge changes would be needed in New Zealand, he said.
"But there's no reason why we shouldn't aspire to that."
HOW NZ RATES
* During the year to March, 330 New Zealand babies younger than one-year-old died - a rate of 5.3 deaths per 1000 live births.
* Of those, 55 per cent were for babies less than four-weeks old.
* Australia and Britain have infant mortality rates of about 4.5.
* Maori infant mortality has fallen from 10.1 in 1998 to 7.4 in 2008.
