Infant Health and Mortality and Black/African Americans

• In 2022, the infant mortality rate for non-Hispanic Black or African Americans was 2.4 times the rate for non-Hispanic whites.¹ Non-Hispanic Black or African Americans had the highest infant mortality rate among all racial and ethnic groups.
• Non-Hispanic Black or African American infants were 3.6 times more likely to die from causes related to low birthweight and 3.2 times more likely to die from sudden infant death syndrome or impacts from maternal complications of pregnancy than non-Hispanic white infants in 2022.²
• In 2022, non-Hispanic Black or African American mothers were more than twice as likely to receive late or no prenatal care than non-Hispanic white mothers.³
• Non-Hispanic Black or African American mothers were 40% less likely to have smoked during pregnancy than non-Hispanic white mothers in 2022.⁴

Infant Mortality Rate

Infant mortality, rate per 1,000 live births, 2022
Non-Hispanic Black	Non-Hispanic White	Non-Hispanic Black / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
10.9	4.5	2.4

Infant mortality by age of mother, rate per 1,000 live births, 2022
Age of Mother	Non-Hispanic Black	Non-Hispanic White	Non-Hispanic Black / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
Under 20 years	13.9	10..5	1.3
20–24 years	12.2	6.5	1.9
25–29 years	10.8	4.3	2.5
30–34 years	9.5	3.7	2.6
35–39 years	10.5	3.7	2.8
40–54 years	11.2	5.4	2.1

Leading Causes of Infant Mortality

Infant mortality rate for the top 5 leading causes of death for Black or African Americans, rate per 100,000 live births, 2022
Cause of Death	Non-Hispanic Black	Non-Hispanic White	Non-Hispanic Black / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
(1) Low Birthweight	188.1	51.9	3.6
(2) Congenital Malformations	134.9	99.6	1.4
(3) Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)	106.0	32.8	3.2
(4) Accidents (unintentional injuries)	81.5	33.7	2.4
(5) Maternal complications of pregnancy	68.4	21.7	3.2

Medical and Health Characteristics of Births

Mother received late or no prenatal care, percentage, 2022
Non-Hispanic Black	Non-Hispanic White	Non-Hispanic Black / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
10.0	4.7	2.1

Mother smoked during pregnancy, percentage, 2022
Non-Hispanic Black	Non-Hispanic White	Non-Hispanic Black / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
3.1	5.4	0.6

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¹ CDC, 2024. Infant Mortality in the United States, 2022: Data from the Period Linked Birth/Infant Death File. National Vital Statistics Reports, vol. 73, no. 5. Table 2. (back)

² CDC, 2024. Infant Mortality in the United States, 2022: Data from the Period Linked Birth/Infant Death File. National Vital Statistics Reports, vol. 73, no. 5. Table 4. (back)

³ CDC, 2024. Births: Final Data for 2022. National Vital Statistics Reports, vol. 73, no. 2. Tables 13 and 14. (back)

⁴ CDC, 2024. Births: Final Data for 2022. National Vital Statistics Reports, vol. 73, no. 2. Tables 13 and 14. (back)