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Infant Mortality Rates Rise Forsyth, Guilford Counties

Credit: North Carolina Public Health State Center for Health Statistics

New statewide data released Wednesday show infant mortality rates rose across the Piedmont Triad in 2016.

The North Carolina Center for Health Statistics defines infant mortality as the death of a child before their first birthday, regardless of cause.

Under those parameters, 42 infants died last year in Forsyth County. That's a rate of 9.3 per 1,000 live births, the highest among the state's five biggest urban counties.

In Guilford County, the infant mortality rate hit 8.3 per 1,000.

Both places saw their rates rise over the previous year.

Infant mortality is influenced by a wide range of factors, including smoking, drug use, poverty and more.

Sean Bueter joined WFDD in August 2015 as a reporter covering issues across the Piedmont Triad and beyond.Previously, Sean was a reporter, host and news director at WBOI in Fort Wayne, Ind., just a few hours from where he grew up. He also sorted Steve Inskeep's mail as an intern at NPR in Washington, D.C.Sean has experience on a variety of beats, including race, wealth and poverty, economic development, and more. His work has appeared on NPR's Morning Edition and All Things Considered, and APM's Marketplace.In his spare time, Sean plays tennis (reasonably well), golf (reasonably poorly), and scours local haunts for pinball machines to conquer.

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