Infant Mortality In Vancouver: Case Study

Vancouver is located on the southwest coast of British Columbia. With an average population of six hundred thirty-one thousand people in 2016, Vancouver finds its population vastly increasing each year (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation 2017 a). On average, a family with two working parents makes an annual income of ninety-seven thousand, two hundred dollars whereas a single mother makes approximately forty-eight thousand dollars (CBC 2017 a). This is an important factor because around twenty eight percent of mothers in Vancouver are single parents, fighting to survive in such an expensive city (British Columbia Government 2012). Economic wealth is distributed accordingly throughout Vancouver; eleven percent of families make less than twenty

In Vancouver, four out of a thousand children die before the age of one (Provincial Health Services Authority 2018). Although it is significantly possible for a child to die this young due to chance, infant mortality in Vancouver is usually due to sexually transmitted diseases or substance abuse by the pregnant mother (PHSA 2018). On a greater scale, twenty-nine percent of women in Canada admitted to substance abuse as they were pregnant with their; resulting in possible cases of fetal alcohol syndrome and sudden infant death syndrome (The Globe and Mail 2018 b). Sudden infant death syndrome is when an infant suddenly dies in their sleep due to low birthweight, respiratory issues or brain defects (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research 2017). The symptoms that are associated to sudden infant death syndrome are a response to a mother abusing alcohol, drugs or smoking during pregnancy (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research 2017). Fetal alcohol syndrome is also a result of the mother consuming alcohol, causing the child to have physical, mental and often learning disabilities (Public Health Agency of Canada 2017 a). Adults with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome may refuse to follow the law, drop out of school or work and abuse substances (Public Health Agency of Canada 2017 b). Fetal alcohol syndrome is often overlooked as its symptoms of mental health issues may be mistaken for a child

Common health issues that affect people in Vancouver are cancer, hypertension and type two diabetes. Overall, in British Columbia cancer is quite common compared to other provinces in Canada (NEWS 1130 Staff and The Canadian Press 2018). The reason why cancer in British Columbia is so common is because we are reaching the peak where the baby boomers are getting very old and cancer is influenced with age (NEWS 1130 Staff and The Canadian Press 2018). Hypertension is also common in Vancouver. It is impacted through smoking, obesity, alcohol consumption, high salt diets, stress, genetics or old age (WebMD). This impacts Vancouver due to its aging population and increasing obesity rates. Our easy access to virtually anywhere in Vancouver provides us with constant temptations of salty fast food options which can impact the possibility of hypertension. Although we have easy access to healthy food, it is difficult to turn down fast food when it is just as easy to access. For the same reason of unhealthy eating habits, type two diabetes rates in Vancouver have doubled since the year 2000 (Mason 2016). Unhealthy people are more likely to influence their children to live a similar lifestyle and eventually after many generations, the entire city may be obese. Not only does obesity increase illness, but it also makes it more difficult to work