Infant Mortality and Asian Americans

  • Asian Americans tend to have lower infant mortality rates than the overall population.
  • In 2023, non-Hispanic Asian American mothers had the lowest rate of smoking during pregnancy (0.2%) of all racial and ethnic groups.1

Visit MedlinePlus for information about Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and Common Infant and Newborn Problems in multiple Asian languages.

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Occurrence

Infant mortality, rate per 1,000 live births, 2023
Asian*Total PopulationRatio (Asian* / Total)
3.45.60.61
Source: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. (2025). Infant mortality in the United States, 2023 (National Vital Statistics Report, Vol. 74, No. 7, Table 2). U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Infant mortality by age of mother, rate per 1,000 live births, 2023
Age of MotherAsian*Total PopulationRatio (Asian* / Total)
15-19 yearsNot Reported10.4Not Reported
20–24 years5.97.20.82
25–29 years4.05.20.76
30–34 years3.04.60.65
35–39 years3.14.90.64
40–54 years4.36.80.63
Source: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. (2025). Infant mortality in the United States, 2023 (National Vital Statistics Report, Vol. 74, No. 7, Table 2). U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Leading Causes of Death

Infant mortality rate for the top 5 leading causes of death for Asian Americans, rate per 100,000 live births, 2023
Cause of DeathAsian*Total PopulationRatio (Asian* / Total)
Low Birthweight53.881.40.66
Congenital Malformations69.1112.10.62
Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)9.740.20.24
Accidents (unintentional injuries)8.335.80.23
Maternal complications of pregnancy25.531.90.80
Source: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. (2025). Infant mortality in the United States, 2023 (National Vital Statistics Report, Vol. 74, No. 7, Table 4). U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Risk Factors for Complications

Mother received late or no prenatal care, percentage, 2023
Asian*Total PopulationRatio (Asian* / Total)
4.97.00.70
Source:U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. (2025). Births: Final data for 2023 (National Vital Statistics Report, Vol. 74, No. 1, Table 13). U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Mother smoked during pregnancy, percentage, 2023
Asian*Total PopulationRatio (Asian* / Total)
0.23.00.07
Source:U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. (2025). Births: Final data for 2023 (National Vital Statistics Report, Vol. 74, No. 1, Table 13). U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

*Population is non-Hispanic in the data source.

1 CDC, 2025. Births: Final Data for 2023. National Vital Statistics Reports, vol. 74, no. 1. Tables 13 and 14. (Back to top)


Date Last Reviewed: January 2026