COUNTY'S BABIES HEALTHIER; INFANT MORTALITY RATE AT LOWEST POINT EVER.

Byline: Anne Burke Daily News Staff Writer

Los Angeles County's infant mortality rate has dropped to an all-time low, but low birth weight remains a grave problem, according to the county's latest statistics.

Infant mortality in the county dropped 12 percent, from 6.7 to 5.9 per thousand live births, between 1995 and 1996, according to Dr. Irwin Silberman, the county's director of Family Health Programs.

But county health officials are still worried about low birth weight, which shows no signs of improving in the Los Angeles area or in the nation as a whole.

The infant mortality decline is due to a number of positive factors, among them better access to health care, improved public health efforts, advances in medical sciences and technology, and lower rates of substance abuse, crime and violence, said Dr. Irwin Silberman.

``You have to look at it as a package of good things that have been happening to women,'' Silberman said.

Infant mortality is defined as the number of infants, per thousand live births, who die before their first birthday.

The leading causes are heart defects and other congenital anomalies; disorders relating to short gestation and low birth weight; sudden infant death syndrome; and respiratory distress syndrome.

Dr. Sarkis Kaakijian, a pediatrician at Glendale Memorial Hospital, said parents are more conscientious about seeking medical care for their infants at the first sign of illness.

Lower unemployment rates, decreased drug use and increased availability of health care also are creating healthier babies, Kaakijian said.

The nationwide infant mortality rate also is dropping, but the county's rate is falling faster and farther.

Nationwide, mortality dropped 5 percent, from 7.6 to 7.2 per thousand live births, between 1995 and 1996, according to a December article in the journal Pediatrics.

Statistics for 1997 are not yet available.

Silberman said that county's rate is better than the nation as a whole because of its high percentage of Latinas and Asian women.

Those populations, which include high percentages of immigrants, do better than non-Latino Caucasians when it comes to infant mortality, Silberman said.

``These are women who are survivors. They are strong and well-nourished, and they live in families with strong support systems,'' he said.

Latino babies also tend to be heavier than other infants, partly because their moms have a lower rate of substance abuse, but a higher rate of diabetes, Silberman said.

Diabetes contributes to higher birth weight, he explained.

At the county's Olive View-UCLA Medical Center in Sylmar, infant mortality dropped from 3.1 per thousand live births in 1995, to 1.5 in 1996, per thousand live births, said Dr. Maureen Sims, the center's director of newborn service.