Infant Mortality and Asian
- Asian women generally have lower infant mortality rates than the overall population, however recent statistics for Asian American subgroups are limited for this topic.
- Asian American infants are 40 percent more likely to die from maternal complications as compared to non-Hispanic white mothers.
Infant Mortality Rate
| Infant mortality rate per 1,000 live births, 2017 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Asian* | Non-Hispanic White | All Races | Asian / Non-Hispanic White Ratio |
| 3.8 | 4.7 | 5.8 | 0.8 |
| *All data in the surveys relate to non-Hispanic Asian Americans. | |||
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr68/nvsr68_10-508.pdf [474.53KB]
Leading Causes of Infant Mortality
| Infant deaths and mortality rates for the top 5 leading causes of death - Asians, 2017 (Rates per 100,000 live births) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cause of Death (By rank) | # Asian Deaths | Asian Death Rate | # Non-Hispanic White Deaths | Non-Hispanic White Death Rate | Asian / Non-Hispanic White Ratio |
| (1) Congenital malformations | 211 | 84.7 | 2,138 | 107.3 | 0.8 |
| (2) Low-Birthweight | 162 | 65.0 | 1,260 | 63.2 | 1.0 |
| (3) Maternal complications | 83 | 33.3 | 470 | 23.6 | 1.4 |
| (7) Accidents (unintentional injuries) | 25 | 10.0 | 619 | 31.1 | 0.3 |
| (8) Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) | 19 | -- | 688 | 34.5 | -- |
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr68/nvsr68_10-508.pdf [474.53KB]
Characteristics of Mother
| Percentage of mothers who received prenatal care (first trimester), 2017 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Asian American | Non-Hispanic White | Asian / Non-Hispanic White Ratio |
| 81.1 | 82.4 | 1.0 |
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr67/nvsr67_08-508.pdf [987.68KB]
| Percentage of mothers who received late or no prenatal care, 2017 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Asian American | Non-Hispanic White | Asian / Non-Hispanic White Ratio |
| 5.1 | 4.5 | 1.1 |
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr67/nvsr67_08-508.pdf [987.68KB]
| Percentage of mothers who received late or no prenatal care, 2017 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Asian Americans | Non-Hispanic White | Asian / Non-Hispanic White Ratio |
| 0.5 | 10.1 | 0.05 |
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr67/nvsr67_08-508.pdf [987.68KB]
| Infant mortality rate per 1,000 live births, 2017 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Age of Mother | Asian American | Non-Hispanic White | Asian / Non-Hispanic White Ratio |
| Under 20 years | -- | 8.5 | -- |
| 20-24 years | 4.8 | 6.1 | 0.8 |
| 25-29 years | 3.4 | 4.6 | 0.7 |
| 30-34 years | 3.6 | 3.8 | 0.9 |
| 35-39 years | 3.9 | 4.1 | 1.0 |
| 40-54 years | 4.8 | 5.3 | 0.9 |
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr68/nvsr68_10-508.pdf [474.53KB]
Last Edited: 06/09/2025