Infant Mortality Rate on the Decline for All Major Racial and Ethnic Groups

A new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) National Center for Health Statistics documents a 12 percent decline in the infant mortality rate in the U.S. from 2005 through 2011, following a plateau from 2000 through 2005. Recent Declines in Infant Mortality in the United States, 2005-2011 [PDF | 770KB] is based on information from death certificates filed in state vital statistics offices and subsequently compiled into national data and included in the National Vital Statistics System. For additional information, visit www.cdc.gov/nchs.

Key findings

• Following a plateau from 2000 through 2005, the U.S. infant mortality rate declined 12% from 2005 through 2011. Declines for neonatal and postneonatal mortality were similar.
• From 2005 through 2011, infant mortality declined 16% for non-Hispanic black women and 12% for non-Hispanic white women.
• Infant mortality declined for four of the five leading causes of death during the 2005–2011 period.
• Infant mortality rates declined most rapidly among some, but not all, Southern states from 2005 through 2010. Despite these declines, states in the South still had among the highest rates in 2010. Rates were also high in 2010 in some states in the Midwest.

Infant mortality is an important indicator of the health of a nation. Changes in infant mortality rates over time are examined by age at death, maternal race and ethnicity, cause of death, and state.