National Vital
Statistics Reports
Volume 70, Number 14 December 8, 2021
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
National Center for Health Statistics
National Vital Statistics System
Infant Mortality in the United States, 2019: Data
From the Period Linked Birth/Infant Death File
by Danielle M. Ely, Ph.D., and Anne K. Driscoll, Ph.D.
Abstract
Objectives—This report presents 2019 infant mortality
statistics by age at death, maternal race and Hispanic origin,
maternal age, gestational age, leading causes of death, and maternal
state of residence. Trends in infant mortality are also examined.
Methods—Descriptive tabulations of data are presented and
interpreted for infant deaths and infant mortality rates using the
2019 period linked birth/infant death file. The linked birth/infant
death file is based on birth and death certificates registered in all
states and the District of Columbia.
Results—A total of 20,927 infant deaths were reported
in the United States in 2019, down 3% from 2018. The U.S.
infant mortality rate was 5.58 infant deaths per 1,000 live
NCHS reports can be downloaded from: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/index.htm.
Figure 1. Infant, neonatal, and postneonatal mortality rates: United States, 1995–2019
0
2
4
6
8
Deaths per 1,000 live births
Infant
Neonatal
Postneonatal
2019201720152013201120092007200520032001199919971995
SOURCE: National Center for Health Statistics, National Vital Statistics System, Linked birth/infant death file.
2 National Vital Statistics Reports, Vol. 70, No. 14, December 8, 2021
births, a historic low for the country, although not significantly
different from the rate of 5.67 in 2018. The neonatal mortality
rate declined to 3.69 in 2019 from 3.78 in 2018, while the
postneonatal mortality rate was unchanged from 2018 at 1.89.
The mortality rate declined for infants of non-Hispanic white
women in 2019 compared with 2018; declines in rates for the
other race and Hispanic-origin groups were not significant.
The 2019 infant mortality rate for infants of non-Hispanic black
women (10.62) was more than twice as high as that for infants
of non-Hispanic white (4.49), non-Hispanic Asian (3.38), and
Hispanic (5.03) women. Infants born very preterm (less than 28
weeks of gestation) had the highest mortality rate (374.46), 184
times as high as that for infants born at term (37–41 weeks of
gestation) (2.03). The five leading causes of infant death in 2019
were the same as in 2018. Infant mortality rates by state for 2019
ranged from a low of 3.21 in New Hampshire to a high of 8.71
in Mississippi.
Keywords: infant death • maternal and infant characteristics •
vital statistics • National Vital Statistics System
Introduction
This report presents infant mortality statistics based on
data from the 2019 period linked birth/infant death file. Infant
mortality and mortality rates are described by age at death,
maternal race and Hispanic origin, maternal age, gestational
age, leading causes of death, and maternal state of residence
in the United States. Infant mortality trends are also presented
by selected characteristics. In the linked file, information from
the death certificate is linked to information from the birth
certificate for each infant under age 1 year who died in the 50
states, District of Columbia (D.C.), Puerto Rico, or Guam during
2019 (1). The purpose of the linkage is to use variables available
from the birth certificate to conduct more detailed analyses of
infant mortality patterns (2,3). The linked birth/infant death data
set also is the preferred source for examining infant mortality
by race and Hispanic origin. Infant mortality rates by race and
Hispanic origin are more accurately measured from the birth
certificate compared with the death certificate.
For 2019, linked birth/infant death data are not available for
American Samoa, Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas, and
U.S. Virgin Islands. Some rates calculated from the mortality file
differ from those published using the linked file. More details can
be found elsewhere (1).
Methods
Data shown in this report are based on birth and infant death
certificates registered in all states, D.C., Puerto Rico, and Guam.
As part of the Vital Statistics Cooperative Program, each state
provides matching birth and death certificate numbers for each
infant under age 1 year who died during 2019 to the National
Center for Health Statistics. Further discussion of the process
of linking births and deaths occurring in different states and file
production can be found in the Methodology section of the “User
Guide to the 2019 Period/2018 Cohort Linked Birth/Infant Death
Public Use File” (1).
The period linked file for 2017 marked the first data year
for which the linked birth data for infant deaths for all 50 states
and D.C. were based on the 2003 revision of the U.S. Standard
Certificate of Live Birth (4) and, accordingly, the first year for
which national data on race and Hispanic-origin categories based
on 1997 Office of Management and Budget (OMB) standards
became available (5).
In 2019, 99.3% of all infant death records were successfully
linked to their corresponding birth records. These records were
weighted to adjust for the 0.7% of infant death records that were
not linked to their corresponding birth certificates (1) (Technical
Notes).
Information on births for age and race of mother is imputed
if it is not reported on the birth certificate. In 2019, race of mother
was imputed for 6.8% of births; mother’s age was imputed for
0.01% of births (2,3).
The race and Hispanic-origin groups shown in this report
follow the 1997 OMB standards and differ from the bridged-race
categories shown in previous reports (5). The categories are:
non-Hispanic single-race white, non-Hispanic single-race black
or African American, non-Hispanic single-race American Indian
or Alaska Native (AIAN), non-Hispanic single-race Asian, non-
Hispanic single-race Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
(NHOPI), and Hispanic (for brevity, text references omit the term
“single-race”). Race and Hispanic origin are reported separately
on the birth certificate. Data are shown in most cases for four
specified Hispanic groups: Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, and
Central and South American. Additional details on Hispanic origin
are available (3). Comparisons between 2019 and 2018 by race
and Hispanic origin are made in this report. The 2003 revision of
the U.S. Standard Certificate of Live Birth allows the reporting of
five race categories for each parent (6)—either alone, as in single
race, or in combination, as in more than one race or multiple
races—in accordance with the 1997 revised OMB standards (5).
Further details on race reporting are available (3).
Cause-of-death statistics are classified in accordance with
the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related
Health Problems, 10th Revision (ICD–10) (7) (Technical Notes).
Data by maternal and infant characteristics
This report presents descriptive tabulations of infant mortality
data by a variety of maternal and infant characteristics. These
tabulations are useful for understanding the basic relationships
between risk factors and infant mortality, unadjusted for the
possible effects of other variables. However, women with one
risk factor may often have other risk factors as well. For example,
teen mothers are more likely to be unmarried and of a low-income
status, while mothers who do not receive prenatal care are more
likely to be of a low-income status and uninsured. The preferred
method for disentangling the multiple interrelationships among
risk factors is multivariate analysis; however, an understanding of
the basic relationships between risk factors and infant mortality
is the first step before more sophisticated types of analyses and
may help identify high-risk subgroups for prevention efforts.
This report presents several key risk factors for infant mortality:
age at death, maternal race and Hispanic origin, maternal age,
gestational age, leading causes of infant death, and maternal
National Vital Statistics Reports, Vol. 70, No. 14, December 8, 2021 3
state of residence. For brevity, additional selected risk factors
(sex, birthweight, plurality, and nativity [mother’s place of birth])
are presented in tables but not discussed in this report.
Race and Hispanic origin—Infant mortality rates are
presented by race and Hispanic origin of the mother. The linked
file is useful for computing accurate infant mortality rates by
these characteristics because the race and Hispanic origin of the
mother from the birth certificate are used in both the numerator
and denominator of the infant mortality rate. In contrast, for rates
based on the vital statistics mortality file, race information for the
denominator is the race of the mother as reported on the birth
certificate, while race information for the numerator is the race
of the decedent as reported on the death certificate (2,3,8). More
detail on the reliability of race and Hispanic-origin data from the
linked file compared with the mortality file is available (8).
Statistical significance—Statements in the text have been
tested for statistical significance, and a statement that a given
infant mortality rate is higher or lower than another rate indicates
that the rates are significantly different using a two-tailed z test at
the alpha level of 0.05. Information on the methods used to test
for statistical significance, as well as information on differences
between period and cohort data, the weighting of the linked file,
maternal age, period of gestation, birthweight, and cause-of-
death classification, also is available (1) (Technical Notes).
Results
Trends in infant mortality and infant age at
death
• In 2019, 20,927 infant deaths were reported in the
United States, a decline of 3% from 2018 (21,498). The
infant mortality rate was 5.58 deaths per 1,000 live births in
2019, a nonsignificant decline from the 2018 rate of 5.67 and
the lowest rate reported in U.S. history (Figure 1, Table 1).
• The U.S. infant mortality rate has generally trended
downward since 1995 (the first year that the period linked
birth/infant death file was available) and has declined 19%
since 2005, the most recent high (6.86).
• The 2019 neonatal mortality rate (infant deaths at less
than 28 days) declined 2% to 3.69 from 3.78 in 2018. The
neonatal mortality rate has generally declined since 1995
and is also down 19% since 2005 (4.54).
• The 2019 postneonatal mortality rate (infant deaths at
28 days or more) was unchanged from 2018 (1.89). The
postneonatal mortality rate has also generally declined since
1995 and is also down 19% since 2005 (2.32).
Race and Hispanic origin
• The mortality rate for infants of non-Hispanic white women
declined 3% from 2018 to 2019 (from 4.63 to 4.49 infant
deaths per 1,000 births). Declines in rates for infants born
to non-Hispanic black (10.75 to 10.62), non-Hispanic
AIAN (8.15 to 7.87), non-Hispanic Asian (3.63 to 3.38),
and non-Hispanic NHOPI (9.39 to 8.19) women were not
significant. A nonsignificant increase was found in the
mortality rate for infants of Hispanic women from 2018 to
2019 (4.86 to 5.03) (Tables 1 and 2, Figure 2).
• Among Hispanic-origin subgroups, the mortality rate for
infants of Central and South American women increased
13% from 2018 to 2019 (4.02 to 4.53); declines in mortality
rates for infants of Mexican and Cuban women were not
significant between the 2 years. The increase in the mortality
rate for infants of Puerto Rican women was not significant
(5.61 to 6.17).
• In 2019, infant mortality continued to vary by race: Infants
of non-Hispanic black women had the highest mortality rate
(10.62), followed by infants of non-Hispanic NHOPI (8.19),
non-Hispanic AIAN (7.87), Hispanic (5.03), non-Hispanic
white (4.49), and non-Hispanic Asian (3.38) women.
• Infants of non-Hispanic black women also had the highest
neonatal mortality rate in 2019 (6.85) compared with infants of
the other race and Hispanic-origin groups; the lowest mortality
rate was for infants of non-Hispanic Asian women (2.52).
• In 2019, postneonatal mortality rates were higher for
infants of non-Hispanic AIAN (3.87), non-Hispanic black
(3.77), and non-Hispanic NHOPI (3.17) women than for
infants of non-Hispanic white (1.57), Hispanic (1.55), and
non-Hispanic Asian (0.85) women.
• Among Hispanic-origin subgroups in 2019, infants of Puerto
Rican women had the highest mortality rate (6.17), followed
by infants of Mexican (4.96), Central and South American
(4.53), and Cuban (4.14) women.
Maternal age
• No significant changes were found in mortality rates for
infants of women in any maternal age group between
2018 and 2019. Rates declined for infants of women aged
20–39 and increased for infants of women under age 20 and
aged 40 and over, but these changes were not significant
(Figure 3, Table 2).
• Mortality rates were highest for infants of females under
age 20 (8.68 infant deaths per 1,000 births), decreased to
a low of 4.57 for infants of women aged 30–34, and then
increased to 7.01 for infants of women aged 40 and over
(the second-highest rate).
Gestational age
• Infant mortality rates declined from 2018 to 2019 for infants
born at less than 32 weeks (185.79 to 180.40 infant deaths
per 1,000 births) and at 32–33 weeks (21.95 to 19.21).
Infant mortality rates for all other gestational age categories
did not change significantly between 2018 and 2019
(Table, Table 2) (4).
• In 2019, 66% of infant deaths occurred among infants born
preterm (less than 37 weeks of gestation), unchanged from
2018.
4 National Vital Statistics Reports, Vol. 70, No. 14, December 8, 2021
Figure 2. Infant mortality rate, by maternal race and Hispanic origin: United States, 2018–2019
Figure 3. Infant mortality rate, by maternal age: United States, 2018–2019
20192018
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
Infant deaths per 1,000 live births
SOURCE: National Center for Health Statistics, National Vital Statistics System, Linked birth/infant death file.
Hispanic
Non-Hispanic
Native Hawaiian or
Other Pacific Islander
AsianAmerican Indian
or Alaska Native
BlackWhite
4.63
4.49
10.75
10.62
8.15
7.87
3.63
3.38
9.39
8.19
4.86
5.03
0
2
4
6
8
10
40 and over35–3930–3425–2920–24Under 20
8.65
8.68
6.90
6.76
5.58
5.47
4.62
4.57
5.04
5.03
6.99
7.01
Infant deaths per 1,000 live births
Maternal age group
SOURCE: National Center for Health Statistics, National Vital Statistics System, Linked birth/infant death file.
20192018
National Vital Statistics Reports, Vol. 70, No. 14, December 8, 2021 5
Leading causes of infant death
• In 2019, the five leading causes of all infant deaths were the
same as those in 2018: congenital malformations (21% of
infant deaths), disorders related to short gestation and low
birth weight (17%), maternal complications (6%), sudden
infant death syndrome (SIDS) (6%), and unintentional
injuries (6%) (Table 3).
• From 2018 through 2019, infant mortality rates for
unintentional injuries increased from 30.8 infant deaths per
100,000 births to 33.7, while infant mortality rates declined
for disorders related to short gestation and low birth weight
(97.1 to 92.3) and maternal complications (36.2 to 33.4).
Declines in rates for congenital malformations (118.7 to
115.1) and SIDS (35.1 to 33.4) were not significant.
• Congenital malformations was the leading cause of death for
infants born to non-Hispanic white (105.5), non-Hispanic
AIAN (119.5), and Hispanic (127.5) women (Table 4).
• Disorders related to short gestation and low birth weight
was the leading cause of death for infants of non-Hispanic
black (237.0) and non-Hispanic Asian (75.0) women.
Infant mortality by state
• By state, infant mortality ranged from a low of 3.21 infant
deaths per 1,000 births in New Hampshire to a high of 8.71
in Mississippi (Figure 4, Table 5).
• Twelve states had infant mortality rates significantly lower
than the national infant mortality rate of 5.58: California,
Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Kentucky, Massachusetts,
Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oregon,
and Washington.
Table. Infant mortality rate, by gestational age: United States, 2015–2019
Year Less than 32 weeks 32–33 weeks 34–36 weeks 37–41 weeks 42 weeks or more
Deaths per 1,000 live births
2019. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180.40 19.21 8.21 2.03 5.72
2018. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185.79 21.95 8.21 2.05 5.39
2017. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187.56 20.50 8.50 2.10 3.98
2016. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190.15 20.12 8.65 2.19 4.31
2015. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193.54 20.79 8.76 2.17 4.20
SOURCE: National Center for Health Statistics, National Vital Statistics System, Linked birth/infant death file.
U.S. rate per 1,000
live births: 5.58
8.00–8.99
7.0 0 –7.99
6.00–6.99
5.00–5.99
4.00–4.99
Less than 4.00
Fewer than 20 infant deaths
OR
CA
AZ
AK
NM
TX
NE
KS
NV
UT
CO
WA
ID
MT
WI
ME
NH
CT
NY
PA
VA
IL
MN
IA
LA
HI
MS
AL GA
OH
FL
AR
MO
TN
KY
OK
ND
WY
SD
MI
MA
RI
NJ
DE
VT
WV
MD
NC
SC
IN
DC
SOURCE: National Center for Health Statistics, National Vital Statistics System, Linked birth/infant death file.
Figure 4. Infant mortality rate, by state: United States, 2019
6 National Vital Statistics Reports, Vol. 70, No. 14, December 8, 2021
• Fourteen states had infant mortality rates significantly higher
than the U.S. infant mortality rate: Alabama, Arkansas,
Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi,
North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South
Carolina, and Tennessee.
References
1. National Center for Health Statistics. User guide to the 2019
period/2018 cohort linked birth/infant death public use file.
Hyattsville, MD. 2021. Available from: https://ftp.cdc.gov/pub/
Health_Statistics/NCHS/Dataset_Documentation/DVS/period-
cohort-linked/19PE18CO_linkedUG.pdf.
2. Martin JA, Hamilton BE, Osterman MJK, Driscoll AK. Births:
Final data for 2019. National Vital Statistics Reports; vol 70 no 2.
Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2021. DOI:
https://dx.doi.org/10.15620/cdc:100472.
3. National Center for Health Statistics. User guide to the 2019 natality
public use file. Hyattsville, MD. 2020. Available from: https://ftp.
cdc.gov/pub/Health_Statistics/NCHS/Dataset_Documentation/
DVS/natality/UserGuide2019-508.pdf.
4. Ely DM, Driscoll AK. Infant mortality in the United States, 2017:
Data from the period linked birth/infant death file. National Vital
Statistics Reports; vol 68 no 10. Hyattsville, MD: National Center
for Health Statistics. 2019.
5. Office of Management and Budget. Revisions to the standards for
the classification of federal data on race and ethnicity. Fed Regist
62(210):58782–90. 1997.
6. National Center for Health Statistics. 2003 revisions of the U.S.
Standard Certificates and Reports. Available from: https://www.
cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vital_certificate_revisions.htm.
7. World Health Organization. International statistical classification
of diseases and related health problems, 10th revision (ICD–10).
2nd ed. Geneva, Switzerland. 2004.
8. Kochanek KD, Murphy SL, Xu JQ, Arias E. Deaths: Final data for
2017. National Vital Statistics Reports; vol 68 no 9. Hyattsville,
MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2019. Available from:
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr68/nvsr68_09-508.pdf.
9. National Center for Health Statistics. U.S. Standard Certificate of
Live Birth. 2003. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/
dvs/birth11-03final-ACC.pdf.
10. Xu JQ, Murphy SL, Kochanek KD, Arias E. Deaths: Final
data for 2019. National Vital Statistics Reports; vol 70 no 8.
Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2021.
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.15620/cdc:106058.
11. Martin JA, Osterman MJK, Kirmeyer SE, Gregory ECW. Measuring
gestational age in vital statistics data: Transitioning to the obstetric
estimate. National Vital Statistics Reports; vol 64 no 5. Hyattsville,
MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2015.
12. National Center for Health Statistics. Instructions for classifying
the underlying cause of death, 2021. NCHS Instruction Manual,
part 2a. Hyattsville, MD.
13. National Center for Health Statistics. Vital statistics ICD–10 ACME
decision tables for classifying underlying causes of death, 2016.
NCHS Instruction Manual, part 2c. Hyattsville, MD.
14. National Center for Health Statistics. Mortality multiple cause-of-
death public use data file documentation (published annually).
Hyattsville, MD. 2016.
15. World Health Organization. Manual of the International Statistical
Classification of Diseases, Injuries, and Causes of Death: Based
on the recommendations of the Ninth Revision Conference, 1975,
and adopted by the Twenty-ninth World Health Assembly, 1975
revision. Geneva, Switzerland. 1977.
16. National Center for Health Statistics. ICD–10 cause-of-death lists
for tabulating mortality statistics (updated March 2011 to include
WHO updates to ICD–10 for data year 2011). NCHS Instruction
Manual, part 9. Hyattsville, MD. 2011.
List of Detailed Tables
1. Live births, infant, neonatal, and postneonatal deaths, and
mortality rates: United States, 1995–2019, and by race and
Hispanic origin, 2017–2019 ......................... 7
2. Infant mortality rates, live births, and infant deaths, by
selected characteristics and by race and Hispanic origin of
mother: United States, 2019 ........................ 9
3. Infant deaths, percentage of deaths, and infant mortality
rates, by five leading causes of infant death: United States,
2010–2019 ..................................... 13
4. Infant deaths and mortality rates for the five leading causes
of infant death, by race and Hispanic origin of mother:
United States, 2019 ............................... 14
5. Infant mortality rate: United States and each state,
2019. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
National Vital Statistics Reports, Vol. 70, No. 14, December 8, 2021 7
Table 1. Live births, infant, neonatal, and postneonatal deaths, and mortality rates: United States, 1995–2019, and by race and
Hispanic origin, 2017–2019
Year and race and Hispanic origin
Number Deaths per 1,000 live births
Live births Infant deaths Neonatal deaths
Postneonatal
deaths Infant Neonatal Postneonatal
All race and Hispanic-origin groups
2019. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,747,540 20,927 13,834 7,093 5.58 3.69 1.89
2018. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,791,712 21,498 14,329 7,169 5.67 3.78 1.89
2017. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,855,500 22,341 14,844 7,497 5.79 3.85 1.94
2016. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,945,875 23,157 15,303 7,854 5.87 3.88 1.99
2015. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,978,497 23,458 15,672 7,786 5.90 3.94 1.96
2014. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,988,076 23,211 15,737 7,474 5.82 3.95 1.87
2013. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,932,181 23,446 15,893 7,553 5.96 4.04 1.92
2012. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,952,841 23,654 15,887 7,767 5.98 4.02 1.96
2011. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,953,590 24,001 16,065 7,936 6.07 4.06 2.01
2010. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,999,386 24,572 16,193 8,379 6.14 4.05 2.10
2009. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,130,665 26,408 17,261 9,148 6.39 4.18 2.21
2008. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,247,726 28,075 18,238 9,837 6.61 4.29 2.32
2007. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,316,233 29,153 19,094 10,059 6.75 4.42 2.33
2006. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,265,593 28,509 19,041 9,468 6.68 4.46 2.22
2005. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,138,573 28,384 18,782 9,602 6.86 4.54 2.32
2004. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,112,055 27,860 18,602 9,258 6.78 4.52 2.25
2003. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,090,007 27,995 18,935 9,060 6.84 4.63 2.22
2002. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,021,825 27,970 18,791 9,179 6.95 4.67 2.28
2001. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,026,036 27,523 18,275 9,248 6.84 4.54 2.30
2000. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,058,882 27,961 18,733 9,227 6.89 4.62 2.27
1999. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,959,417 27,865 18,701 9,164 7.04 4.72 2.31
1998. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,941,553 28,325 18,915 9,410 7.19 4.80 2.39
1997. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,880,894 27,968 18,507 9,461 7.21 4.77 2.44
1996. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,891,494 28,419 18,556 9,863 7.30
4.77 2.53
1995. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,899,589 29,505 19,186 10,319 7.57 4.92 2.65
Non-Hispanic, single race
White:
2019 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,915,912 8,603 5,589 3,014 4.49 2.92 1.57
2018 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,956,413 9,059 5,873 3,186 4.63 3.00 1.63
2017 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,992,461 9,306 6,061 3,246 4.67 3.04 1.63
Black:
2019 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 548,075 5,821
3,754 2,067 10.62 6.85 3.77
2018 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 552,029 5,933 3,897 2,037 10.75 7.06 3.69
2017 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 560,715 6,152 4,012 2,140 10.97 7.16 3.82
American Indian or Alaska Native:
2019 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28,450 224 114 110 7.87 4.01 3.87
2018 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29,092 237 120 117 8.15 4.12 4.02
2017 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29,957 276 143 132 9.21 4.77 4.41
Asian:
2019 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238,769 806 602 204 3.38 2.52 0.85
2018 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240,798 874 643 231 3.63 2.67 0.96
2017 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
249,250 943 675 268 3.78
2.71 1.08
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander:
2019 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,770 80 49 31 8.19 5.02 3.17
2018 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,476 89 51 38 9.39 5.38 4.01
2017 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,426 72 36 36 7.64 3.82 3.82
See footnotes at end of table.
8 National Vital Statistics Reports, Vol. 70, No. 14, December 8, 2021
Table 1. Live births, infant, neonatal, and postneonatal deaths, and mortality rates: United States, 1995–2019, and by race and
Hispanic origin, 2017–2019—Con.
Year and race and Hispanic origin
Number Deaths per 1,000 live births
Live births Infant deaths Neonatal deaths
Postneonatal
deaths Infant Neonatal Postneonatal
Hispanic
Total:
2019 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 886,467 4,462 3,091 1,371 5.03 3.49 1.55
2018 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 886,210 4,303 3,036 1,267 4.86 3.43 1.43
2017 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 898,764 4,583 3,198 1,383 5.10 3.56 1.54
Mexican:
2019 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 496,716 2,462 1,693 769 4.96 3.41 1.55
2018 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 495,831 2,426 1,690 736 4.89 3.41 1.48
2017 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 512,126 2,588 1,795 792 5.05 3.50 1.55
Puerto Rican:
2019 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70,950 438 294 144 6.17 4.14 2.03
2018 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71,614 402 290 112 5.61 4.05 1.56
2017 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70,813 459 307 151 6.48 4.34 2.13
Cuban:
2019 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23,668 98 65 33 4.14 2.75 1.39
2018 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23,471 90 64 26 3.83 2.73 1.11
2017 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23,362 93 69 24 3.98 2.95 1.03
Central and South American:
2019 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165,229 749 535 214 4.53 3.24 1.30
2018 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147,430 592 438 154 4.02 2.97 1.04
2017 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145,614 653 465 188 4.48 3.19 1.29
NOTES: Infant deaths are weighted to adjust for the 0.7% of infant death records that were not linked to their corresponding birth certificates. The neonatal and postneonatal mortality rates
combined may not add to totals due to rounding.
SOURCE: National Center for Health Statistics, National Vital Statistics System, Linked birth/infant death file.
National Vital Statistics Reports, Vol. 70, No. 14, December 8, 2021 9
Table 2. Infant mortality rates, live births, and infant deaths, by selected characteristics and by race and Hispanic origin of mother: United States, 2019
Characteristic Total
Non-Hispanic Hispanic
White Black
American
Indian or
Alaska Native
1
Asian
Native
Hawaiian or
Other Pacific
Islander Total
2
Mexican Puerto Rican Cuban
Central and
South
American
Infant deaths per 1,000 live births in specified group
Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.58 4.49 10.62 7.87 3.38 8.19 5.03 4.96 6.17 4.14 4.53
Age at death
Total neonatal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.69 2.92 6.85 4.01 2.52 5.02 3.49 3.41 4.14 2.75 3.24
Early neonatal (under 7 days) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.97 2.31 5.55 3.13 2.11 4.50 2.80 2.73 3.44 1.99 2.64
Late neonatal (7–27 days) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.72 0.61 1.30 0.88 0.41 * 0.68 0.68 0.70 * 0.59
Postneonatal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.89 1.57 3.77 3.87 0.85 3.17 1.55 1.55 2.03 1.39 1.30
Sex
Male . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.08 4.95 11.41 8.69 3.63 10.15 5.47 5.34 7.18 4.43 4.76
Female . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.06 4.01 9.80 7.10 3.11 5.90 4.57 4.55 5.15 3.84 4.30
Period of gestation (weeks)
Less than 34 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111.65 98.20 134.61 106.80 101.34 148.41 107.20 108.42 102.45 105.77 103.76
Less than 28 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 374.46 380.58 368.22 395.06 390.88 402.44 355.52 359.70 319.05 312.50 370.75
28–31 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42.13 45.20 39.21 * 28.31 * 39.10 40.12 41.18 * 34.59
32–33 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19.21 18.66 22.95 * 13.13 * 18.27 20.37 * * 18.22
34–36. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.21 7.87 10.49 11.35 4.26 * 7.82 7.37 9.22 * 8.03
37–41. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.03 1.84 3.37 4.23 0.97 3.24 1.80 1.84 2.06 1.08 1.63
37–38 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.09 3.00 4.44 5.09 1.47 * 2.63 2.67 2.75 * 2.54
39–40 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.58 1.40 2.81 3.96 0.71 * 1.39 1.45 1.72 * 1.19
41 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.47 1.22 2.43 * * * 1.59 1.57 * – *
42 or more . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.72 5.23 * * * – * * * – *
Birthweight (grams)
Less than 2,500 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44.90 40.27 55.06 47.56 28.59 57.95 45.18 45.83 43.37 42.91 43.88
Less than 1,500 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203.52 195.14 209.89 210.24 184.13 283.58 202.19 206.04 185.45 191.82 203.10
1,500–2,499 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12.75 13.12 13.70 16.14 5.97 * 13.04 13.69 11.43 * 13.26
2,500 or more . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.97 1.81 3.19 4.40 0.93 3.99 1.71 1.74 2.02 1.14 1.54
2,500–4,499 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.97 1.81 3.19 4.37 0.93 4.07 1.70 1.72 2.02 1.15 1.53
4,500 or more . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.45 2.01 * * * – 2.84 * * – *
Plurality
Single births . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.00 3.99 9.42 7.64 3.03 7.97 4.59 4.54 5.31 3.83 4.21
Twin births . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21.77 17.61 36.48 * 15.23 * 21.04 21.33 30.09 * 16.60
Triplet and higher-order births . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62.69 52.01 96.77 * * – 66.10 * * * *
See footnotes at end of table.
10 National Vital Statistics Reports, Vol. 70, No. 14, December 8, 2021
Table 2. Infant mortality rates, live births, and infant deaths, by selected characteristics and by race and Hispanic origin of mother: United States, 2019—Con.
Characteristic Total
Non-Hispanic Hispanic
White Black
American
Indian or
Alaska Native
1
Asian
Native
Hawaiian or
Other Pacific
Islander Total
2
Mexican Puerto Rican Cuban
Central and
South
American
Age of mother Infant deaths per 1,000 live births in specified group—Con.
Under 20 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.68 8.30 12.03 * * * 6.72 6.72 7.53 – 5.55
20–24. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.76 5.94 10.92 8.58 4.52 * 5.19 4.90 6.76 * 5.31
25–29. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.47 4.49 10.28 8.91 3.56 * 4.53 4.51 5.97 4.39 3.41
30–34. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.57 3.56 10.34 6.05 2.90 9.09 4.44 4.47 4.53 3.72 4.30
35–39. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.03 4.02 10.06 * 3.24 * 5.23 4.90 6.97 5.82 4.79
40–54. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.01 5.03 12.71 * 4.36 * 7.99 8.74 * * 6.45
Mother’s place of birth
Born in the 50 states or District of Columbia . . . . . . . 5.84 4.58 11.06 7.91 3.62 7.42 5.32 5.18 6.30 4.15 3.97
Born elsewhere . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.51 3.03 8.02 * 3.29 8.51 4.66 4.59 5.89 4.14 4.68
Live births
Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,747,540 1,915,912 548,075 28,450 238,769 9,770 886,467 496,716 70,950 23,668 165,229
Sex
Male . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,917,446 981,620 278,494 14,500 123,806 5,026 452,492 253,193 36,203 12,199 84,732
Female . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,830,094 934,292 269,581 13,950 114,963 4,744 433,975 243,523 34,747 11,469 80,497
Period of gestation (weeks)
Less than 34 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103,759 43,532 27,063 824 5,092 283 23,116 12,424 2,411 624 3,884
Less than 28 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24,758 8,487 8,332 162 1,118 82 5,620 2,983 630 176 882
28–31 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34,748 14,735 8,927 284 1,766 80 7,699 4,138 777 178 1,301
32–33 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44,253 20,310 9,804 378 2,208 121 9,797 5,303 1,004 270 1,701
34–36. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279,302 133,807 51,766 2,468 15,725 805 65,238 36,222 5,751 1,627 11,703
37–41. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,352,638 1,731,535 467,745 25,039 217,663 8,644 796,333 447,081 62,674 21,380 149,223
37–38 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,022,874 489,542 166,528 8,637 69,306 2,885 253,964 142,660 20,329 6,236 46,483
39–40 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,135,518 1,130,124 278,956 15,142 138,503 5,247 500,856 281,522 39,034 14,212 94,139
41 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194,246 111,869 22,261 1,260 9,854 512 41,513 22,899 3,311 932 8,601
42 or more . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,435 6,114 1,175 73 238 23 1,436 803 83 32 339
Not stated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,406 924 326 46 51 15 344 186 31 5 80
Birthweight (grams)
Less than 2,500 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 312,153 132,269 77,787 2,292 20,738 742 67,094 35,875 6,963 1,678 11,600
Less than 1,500 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52,610 19,735 16,399 371 2,634 134 11,400 5,994 1,278 318 1,871
1,500–2,499 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259,543 112,534 61,388 1,921 18,104 608 55,694 29,881 5,685 1,360 9,729
2,500 or more . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,432,666 1,782,422 469,917 26,147 217,903 9,021 818,991 460,677 63,930 21,986 153,549
2,500–4,499 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,396,318 1,759,563 466,989 25,646 216,845 8,856 811,256 455,900 63,440 21,774 152,269
4,500 or more . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36,348 22,859 2,928 501 1,058 165 7,735 4,777 490 212 1,280
Not stated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,721 1,221 371 11 128 7 382 164 57 4 80
Plurality
Single births . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,623,963 1,850,036 525,089 27,739 232,079 9,531 864,066 484,711 68,737 22,998 161,483
Twin births . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120,291 64,011 22,397 698 6,567 239 21,811 11,671 2,160 644 3,675
Triplet and higher-order births . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,286 1,865 589 13 123 0 590 334 53 26 71
See footnotes at end of table.
National Vital Statistics Reports, Vol. 70, No. 14, December 8, 2021 11
Table 2. Infant mortality rates, live births, and infant deaths, by selected characteristics and by race and Hispanic origin of mother: United States, 2019—Con.
Characteristic Total
Non-Hispanic Hispanic
White Black
American
Indian or
Alaska Native
1
Asian
Native
Hawaiian or
Other Pacific
Islander Total
2
Mexican Puerto Rican Cuban
Central and
South
American
Age of mother Live births—Con.
Under 20 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173,461 60,854 37,248 2,543 1,362 521 63,396 37,218 5,315 674 10,628
20–24. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 704,342 313,275 132,605 7,696 13,709 2,490 207,552 121,541 18,948 3,770 32,228
25–29. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,078,097 556,533 165,655 8,638 55,116 2,944 256,385 146,250 21,433 7,063 43,135
30–34. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,089,281 618,176 126,332 6,114 96,759 2,311 209,283 112,292 15,660 7,799 43,439
35–39. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 572,598 305,886 68,219 2,881 58,302 1,226 118,441 62,821 7,743 3,608 27,740
40–54. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129,761 61,188 18,016 578 13,521 278 31,410 16,594 1,851 754 8,059
Mother’s place of birth
Born in the 50 states or District of Columbia . . . . . . . 2,896,095 1,785,117 456,315 28,082 46,957 3,506 474,821 298,178 49,999 10,121 32,758
Born elsewhere . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 843,896 128,457 90,033 326 190,948 6,109 410,361 197,996 20,704 13,535 132,304
Not stated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,549 2,338 1,727 42 864 155 1,285 542 247 12 167
Infant deaths
Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20,927 8,603 5,821 224 806 80 4,462 2,462 438 98 749
Age at death
Total neonatal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13,834 5,589 3,754 114 602 49 3,092 1,693 294 65 535
Early neonatal (under 7 days) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,124 4,424 3,041 89 504 44 2,486 1,354 244 47 437
Late neonatal (7–27 days) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,710 1,165 713 25 98 5 606 339 50 18 98
Postneonatal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,093 3,014 2,067 110 204 31 1,371 769 144 33 214
Sex
Male . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,662 4,860 3,179 126 449 51 2,477 1,353 260 54 403
Female . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,265 3,743 2,642 99 357 28 1,985 1,108 179 44 346
Period of gestation (weeks)
Less than 34 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,585 4,275 3,643 88 516 42 2,478 1,347 247 66 403
Less than 28 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,271 3,230 3,068 64 437 33 1,998 1,073 201 55 327
28–31 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,464 666 350 15 50 4 301 166 32 7 45
32–33 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 850 379 225 9 29 5 179 108 14 4 31
34–36. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,292 1,053 543 28 67 9 510 267 53 8 94
37–41. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,815 3,185 1,578 106 211 28 1,431 824 129 23 243
37–38 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,158 1,469 739 44 102 15 668 381 56 10 118
39–40 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,372 1,581 785 60 99 12 697 407 67 13 112
41 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285 136 54 2 10 1 66 36 6 0 13
42 or more . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 32 9 1 1 0 10 5 1 0 4
Not stated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181 56 48 0 12 0 35 17 8 1 5
See footnotes at end of table.
12 National Vital Statistics Reports, Vol. 70, No. 14, December 8, 2021
Table 2. Infant mortality rates, live births, and infant deaths, by selected characteristics and by race and Hispanic origin of mother: United States, 2019—Con.
Characteristic Total
Non-Hispanic Hispanic
White Black
American
Indian or
Alaska Native
1
Asian
Native
Hawaiian or
Other Pacific
Islander Total
2
Mexican Puerto Rican Cuban
Central and
South
American
Birthweight (grams) Infant deaths—Con.
Less than 2,500 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14,017 5,327 4,283 109 593 43 3,031 1,644 302 72 509
Less than 1,500 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10,707 3,851 3,442 78 485 38 2,305 1,235 237 61 380
1,500–2,499 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,310 1,476 841 31 108 5 726 409 65 11 129
2,500 or more . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,767 3,231 1,500 115 203 36 1,403 803 129 25 236
2,500–4,499 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,678 3,185 1,488 112 202 36 1,381 786 128 25 233
4,500 or more . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 46 12 3 1 0 22 17 1 0 3
Not stated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142 44 37 0 10 0 28 15 7 1 4
Plurality
Single births . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18,102 7,380 4,947 212 704 76 3,963 2,199 365 88 680
Twin births . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,619 1,127 817 11 100 4 459 249 65 7 61
Triplet and higher-order births . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206 97 57 1 3 0 39 14 8 3 7
Age of mother
Under 20 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,505 505 448 16 19 6 426 250 40 0 59
20–24. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,761 1,861 1,448 66 62 17 1,077 596 128 16 171
25–29. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,895 2,498 1,703 77 196 17 1,161 660 128 31 147
30–34. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,978 2,200 1,306 37 281 21 929 502 71 29 187
35–39. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,879 1,231 686 19 189 17 619 308 54 21 133
40–54. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 909 308 229 8 59 1 251 145 16 1 52
Mother’s place of birth
Born in the 50 states or District of Columbia . . . . . . . 16,922 8,172 5,048 222 170 26 2,528 1,544 315 42 130
Born elsewhere . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,810 389 722 2 629 52 1,914 908 122 56 619
Not stated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196 42 50 0 8 1 20 10 1 0 0
* Rate does not meet National Center for Health Statistics standards of reliability; based on fewer than 20 deaths in the numerator.
– Quantity zero.
1
Includes Aleut and Eskimo infants.
2
Includes other and unknown Hispanic origin not stated, not shown separately.
NOTES: Infant deaths are weighted, so numbers may not add to totals due to rounding. Not stated responses are included in totals but not distributed among groups for rate computations. Race and Hispanic origin are reported separately on the birth
certificate. Race categories are consistent with 1997 Office of Management and Budget standards. Persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race.
SOURCE: National Center for Health Statistics, National Vital Statistics System, Linked birth/infant death file.
National Vital Statistics Reports, Vol. 70, No. 14, December 8, 2021 13
Table 3. Infant deaths, percentage of deaths, and infant mortality rates, by five leading causes of infant death: United States, 2010–2019
Year
Congenital malformations
(Q00–Q99)
Short gestation and low birth weight,
not elsewhere classified (P07)
Maternal complications
of pregnancy (P01)
Sudden infant death
syndrome (R95)
Accidents (unintentional injures)
(V01–X59)
Number Percent
Rate (deaths
per 100,000
live births) Number Percent
Rate (deaths
per 100,000
live births) Number Percent
Rate (deaths
per 100,000
live births) Number Percent
Rate (deaths
per 100,000
live births) Number Percent
Rate (deaths
per 100,000
live births)
2019. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,313 20.6 115.1 3,460 16.5 92.3 1,250 6.0 33.4 1,251 6.0 33.4 1,264 6.0 33.7
2018. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,501 20.9 118.7 3,683 17.1 97.1 1,371 6.4 36.2 1,331 6.2 35.1 1,169 5.4 30.8
2017. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,596 20.6 119.2 3,757 16.8 97.4 1,436 6.4 37.2 1,360 6.1 35.3 1,313 5.9 34.1
2016. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,823 20.8 122.2 3,926 17.0 99.5 1,407 6.1 35.7 1,498 6.5 38.0 1,217 5.3 30.8
2015. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,847 20.7 121.8 4,087 17.4 102.7 1,527 6.5 38.4 1,567 6.7 39.4 1,289 5.5 32.4
2014. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,754 20.5 119.2 4,172 18.0 104.6 1,580 6.8 39.6 1,541 6.6 38.6 1,163 5.0 29.2
2013. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,778 20.4 121.5 4,213 18.0 107.1 1,597 6.8 40.6 1,561 6.7 39.7 1,150 4.9 29.2
2012. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,967 21.0 125.7 4,214 17.8 106.6 1,518 6.4 38.4 1,676 7.1 42.4 1,163 4.9 29.4
2011. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,016 20.9 126.9 4,115 17.1 104.1 1,598 6.7 40.4 1,905 7.9 48.2 1,167 4.9 29.5
2010. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,115 20.8 127.9 4,151 16.9 103.8 1,563 6.4 39.1 2,058 8.4 51.5 1,107 4.5 27.7
NOTE: The five leading causes of death were the same during 2010–2019.
SOURCE: National Center for Health Statistics, National Vital Statistics System, Linked birth/infant death file.
14 National Vital Statistics Reports, Vol. 70, No. 14, December 8, 2021
Table 4. Infant deaths and mortality rates for the five leading causes of infant death, by race and Hispanic origin of mother: United States, 2019
[Rates per 100,000 live births in specified group]
Cause of death
(based on International Classification
of Diseases, 10th Revision, 1992)
All races
Non-Hispanic
White Black
American Indian or
Alaska Native Asian
1
Rank Number Rate Rank Number Rate Rank Number Rate Rank Number Rate Rank Number Rate
All causes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . … 20,927 558.4 … 8,603 449.0 … 5,821 1,062.1 … 224 787.3 … 806 337.6
Congenital malformations, deformations and
chromosomal abnormalities . . . . . . . . (Q00–Q99) 1 4,313 115.1 1 2,021 105.5 2 779 142.1 1 34 119.5 2 163 68.3
Disorders related to short gestation and low
birth weight, not elsewhere classified . . . . . .(P07) 2 3,460 92.3 2 1,091 56.9 1 1,299 237.0 3 21 73.8 1 179 75.0
Accidents (unintentional injuries) . . . . . . .(V01–X59) 3 1,264 33.7 3 650 33.9 5 332 60.6 3 21 73.8 6 23 9.6
Sudden infant death syndrome . . . . . . . . . . . .(R95) 4 1,251 33.4 4 553 28.9 3 404 73.7 2 24 84.4 8 14 *
Newborn affected by maternal complications
of pregnancy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(P01) 5 1,250 33.4 5 422 22.0 4 366 66.8 5 14 * 3 63 26.4
Cause of death
(based on International Classification
of Diseases, 10th Revision, 1992)
Total Hispanic Mexican Puerto Rican Central and South American
2
Rank Number Rate Rank Number Rate Rank Number Rate Rank Number Rate
All causes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . … 4,462 503.3 … 2,462 495.7 … 438 617.3 … 749 453.3
Congenital malformations, deformations and
chromosomal abnormalities . . . . . . . . (Q00–Q99) 1 1,130 127.5 1 634 127.6 2 78 109.9 1 229 138.6
Disorders related to short gestation and low
birth weight, not elsewhere classified . . . . . .(P07) 2 698 78.7 2 372 74.9 1 79 111.3 2 116 70.2
Accidents (unintentional injuries) . . . . . . .(V01–X59) 5 176 19.9 5 102 20.5 5 19 * 5 23 13.9
Sudden infant death syndrome . . . . . . . . . . . .(R95) 4 193 21.8 4 110 22.1 4 26 36.6 9 13 *
Newborn affected by maternal complications
of pregnancy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(P01) 3 306 34.5 3 179 36.0 3 27 38.1 3 44 26.6
… Category not applicable.
* Rate does not meet National Center for Health Statistics standards of reliability; based on fewer than 20 deaths in the numerator.
1
For non-Hispanic Asian infants, Newborn affected by complications of placenta, cord and membranes (P02) was the fourth leading cause of death, with 37 deaths and a rate of 15.5. Bacterial sepsis of newborn (P36) was the fifth leading cause of
death, with 30 deaths and a rate of 12.6.
2
For Central and South American infants, Newborn affected by complications of placenta, cord and membranes (P02) was the fourth leading cause of death, with 27 deaths and a rate of 16.3.
NOTES: Reliable cause-specific infant mortality rates cannot be computed for Cuban or non-Hispanic Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander infants because of the small number of deaths. Race and Hispanic origin are reported separately on the
birth certificate. Race categories are consistent with 1997 Office of Management and Budget standards. Persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race.
SOURCE: National Center for Health Statistics, National Vital Statistics System, Linked birth/infant death file.
National Vital Statistics Reports, Vol. 70, No. 14, December 8, 2021 15
Table 5. Infant mortality rate: United States and each state, 2019
[By place of residence]
Area Rate Infant deaths Live births
Deaths per 1,000 births
United States
1
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.58 20,927 3,747,540
Alabama . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.71 452 58,615
Alaska . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.99 49 9,822
Arizona . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.43 431 79,375
Arkansas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.00 256 36,564
California . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.23 1,889 446,479
Colorado . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.85 305 62,869
Connecticut . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.38 150 34,258
Delaware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.44 68 10,562
District of Columbia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.96 45 9,079
Florida . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.10 1,342 220,002
Georgia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.02 887 126,371
Hawaii . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.12 86 16,797
Idaho . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.31 95 22,063
Illinois . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.67 794 140,128
Indiana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.54 529 80,859
Iowa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.02 189 37,649
Kansas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.42 192 35,395
Kentucky . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.90 260 53,069
Louisiana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.97 470 58,941
Maine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.43 64 11,779
Maryland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.84 410 70,178
Massachusetts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.73 258 69,117
Michigan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.38 688 107,886
Minnesota . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.53 299 66,027
Mississippi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.71 319 36,636
Missouri . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.14 443 72,127
Montana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.78 53 11,079
Nebraska . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.93 122 24,755
Nevada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.67 199 35,072
New Hampshire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.21 38 11,839
New Jersey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.22 420 99,585
New Mexico . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.66 130 22,960
New York . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.33 959 221,539
North Carolina . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.78 805 118,725
North Dakota . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.46 78 10,454
Ohio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.89 927 134,461
Oklahoma . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.00 344 49,143
Oregon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.85 203 41,858
Pennsylvania . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.93 796 134,230
Rhode Island . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.90 60 10,175
South Carolina . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.89 393 57,038
South Dakota . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.99 80 11,449
Tennessee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.96 560 80,450
Texas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.48 2,069 377,599
Utah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.27 247 46,826
Vermont . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . * 15 5,361
Virginia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.81 566 97,429
Washington . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.26 362 84,895
West Virginia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.12 111 18,136
Wisconsin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.86 371 63,270
Wyoming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.16 47 6,565
Puerto Rico . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.63 135 20,353
Guam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.87 30 3,041
* Rate does not meet National Center for Health Statistics standards of reliability; based on fewer than 20 deaths in the numerator.
1
Does not include Puerto Rico or Guam.
SOURCE: National Center for Health Statistics, National Vital Statistics System, Linked birth/infant death file.
16 National Vital Statistics Reports, Vol. 70, No. 14, December 8, 2021
Table. Percentage of infant deaths linked to corresponding
birth records, by state of occurrence of death: United States
and each state, 2019
Area
Percent linked by state of
occurrence of death
United States
1
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99.3
Alabama . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0
Alaska . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0
Arizona . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97.4
Arkansas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99.6
California . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99.1
Colorado . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0
Connecticut . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0
Delaware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98.6
District of Columbia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0
Florida . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0
Georgia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99.9
Hawaii . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0
Idaho . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0
Illinois . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99.9
Indiana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99.6
Iowa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0
Kansas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0
Kentucky . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99.2
Louisiana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0
Maine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0
Maryland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0
Massachusetts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0
Michigan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99.6
Minnesota . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99.7
Mississippi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0
Missouri . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99.2
Montana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0
Nebraska . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99.3
Nevada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0
New Hampshire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0
New Jersey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0
New Mexico . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98.3
New York . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99.2
New York City . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99.8
North Carolina . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0
North Dakota . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0
Ohio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0
Oklahoma . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98.8
Oregon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99.5
Pennsylvania . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0
Rhode Island . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0
South Carolina . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0
South Dakota . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0
Tennessee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99.7
Texas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96.0
Utah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0
Vermont . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0
Virginia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99.6
Washington . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0
West Virginia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0
Wisconsin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0
Wyoming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0
1
Excludes data for Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Guam.
SOURCE: National Center for Health Statistics, National Vital Statistics System, Linked
birth/infant death file.
Technical Notes
Data source and 2003 revision
Information on the data source for the linked birth/infant death
file is available elsewhere (1). Additionally, further information on
the 2003 revision of the birth certificate is available (3); see also
the U.S. Standard Certificate of Live Birth (9).
Weighting
In 2019, a record weight was added to the U.S. linked file to
compensate for the 0.7% of infant death records that could not
be linked to their corresponding birth certificates. The percentage
of records linked varied by registration area, ranging from
96.0% through 100.0% (Table). The number of infant deaths in
the linked file for the 50 states and District of Columbia (D.C.)
was weighted to equal the sum of the linked plus unlinked infant
deaths by state of occurrence of birth and age at death (under
7 days, 7–27 days, and 28 days to under 1 year). The addition
of the weight reduced the potential for bias in comparing infant
mortality rates by maternal and infant characteristics.
The 2019 linked file started with 20,968 infant death
records. Of these records, 20,814 were linked; 154 were unlinked
because corresponding birth certificates could not be identified.
The 20,968 linked and unlinked records contained records of
infants whose mothers’ usual place of residence was outside
of the United States; 41 records were excluded from linked file
analyses for a weighted total of 20,927 infant deaths by place of
residence for 2019.
Comparison of infant mortality data between
linked file and vital statistics mortality file
The overall infant mortality rate of 5.58 from the 2019
period linked file is the same as that from the 2019 vital statistics
mortality file (5.58) (10). The number of infant deaths in the linked
file (20,814) differs slightly from the number in the mortality file
(20,921) (10). Differences in numbers of infant deaths between
the two data sources are primarily due to geographic coverage
differences. For the vital statistics mortality file, all deaths
occurring in the 50 states and D.C. are included regardless of the
place of birth of the infant. In contrast, to be included in the U.S.
linked file, both the birth and death must occur in the 50 states
and D.C. (the territory linked file is a separate file). Weighting
of the linked file also may contribute to small differences in
numbers and rates by specific variables between these two data
sets.
Period of gestation
Beginning with the 2014 data year, the National Center
for Health Statistics (NCHS) transitioned to a new standard
for estimating the gestational age of the newborn. The new
measure—the obstetric estimate of gestation at delivery (OE)—
replaces the measure based on the date of the last normal menses
(11). Accordingly, gestational age data shown in this report are
based on OE. National data based on OE data are available only
National Vital Statistics Reports, Vol. 70, No. 14, December 8, 2021 17
from data year 2007 forward. Information on and discussion of
the reasons for the change, as well as a detailed comparison of
the two measures, are presented elsewhere (11).
Sex, birthweight, plurality, and nativity
Detailed definitions and more information on sex,
birthweight, plurality, and nativity are available elsewhere (1,3).
Cause-of-death classification
The mortality statistics presented in this report were
compiled in accordance with World Health Organization (WHO)
regulations, which specify that member nations classify and
code causes of death according to the current revision of the
International Statistical Classification of Diseases (ICD). ICD
provides the basic guidance to code and classify causes of death,
details disease classification, and supplies definitions, tabulation
lists, the format of the death certificate, and the rules for coding
cause of death. Cause-of-death data presented in this report
were coded by procedures outlined in annual issues of the NCHS
Instruction Manual (12,13).
In this report, tabulations of cause-of-death statistics
are based solely on the underlying cause of death. Generally,
more medical information is reported on death certificates than
is directly reflected in the underlying cause of death. This is
captured in NCHS multiple cause-of-death statistics (14,15).
Tabulation lists and cause-of-death ranking
The cause-of-death rankings for ICD–10 are based on the
“List of 130 Selected Causes of Infant Death.” The tabulation lists
and rules for ranking leading causes of death are published in the
NCHS Instruction Manual, Part 9, ICD–10 Cause-of-death Lists
for Tabulating Mortality Statistics (16).
Computation of rates
Information on and discussion of computation of rates (1) is
also available from the “User Guide to the 2010 Natality Public Use
File” at: https://ftp.cdc.gov/pub/Health_Statistics/NCHS/Dataset_
Documentation/DVS/natality/UserGuide2010.pdf.
Random variation in infant mortality rates
For information and discussion on random variation and
significance testing for linked data (1), see also the “User Guide
to the 2010 Natality Public Use File” at: https://ftp.cdc.gov/pub/
Health_Statistics/NCHS/Dataset_Documentation/DVS/natality/
UserGuide2010.pdf.
Availability of linked file
Linked file data are available for download from the Vital
Statistics Online Data Portal: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data_
access/vitalstatsonline.htm. Linked period file data may also be
accessed via the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s
Wide-ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research (CDC
WONDER), available from: https://wonder.cdc.gov/lbd.html.
Beginning with 2005, the public-use file no longer includes
geographic detail; such files are available upon special request
(see the NCHS Division of Vital Statistics data release policy at:
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/nvss-restricted-data.htm). Data
are also available in issues of Vital and Health Statistics, Series
20; National Vital Statistics Reports; and Data Briefs, from the
NCHS website: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/index.htm.
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National Vital Statistics Reports, Vol. 70, No. 14, December 8, 2021
FIRST CLASS MAIL
POSTAGE & FEES PAID
CDC/NCHS
PERMIT NO. G-284
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF
HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
National Center for Health Statistics
3311 Toledo Road, Room 4551
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OFFICIAL BUSINESS
PENALTY FOR PRIVATE USE, $300
National Vital Statistics Reports, Vol. 70, No. 14, December 8, 2021
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Suggested citation
Ely DM, Driscoll AK. Infant mortality in the
United States, 2019: Data from the period
linked birth/infant death le. National Vital
Statistics Reports; vol 70 no 14. Hyattsville, MD:
National Center for Health Statistics. 2021.
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.15620/cdc:111053.
Copyright information
All material appearing in this report is in
the public domain and may be reproduced
or copied without permission; citation as to
source, however, is appreciated.
National Center for Health Statistics
Brian C. Moyer, Ph.D., Director
Amy M. Branum, Ph.D., Associate Director for
Science
Division of Vital Statistics
Steven Schwartz, Ph.D., Director
Isabelle Horon, Dr.P.H., Acting Associate
Director for Science
Contents
Abstract .......................................................1
Introduction ....................................................2
Methods .......................................................2
Data by maternal and infant characteristics ..........................2
Results ........................................................3
Trends in infant mortality and infant age at death ......................3
Race and Hispanic origin ........................................3
Maternal age ..................................................3
Gestational age ................................................3
Leading causes of infant death ...................................5
Infant mortality by state .........................................5
References .....................................................6
List of Detailed Tables ............................................6
Technical Notes ................................................16
Acknowledgments
This report was prepared by the Division of Vital Statistics (DVS) under the
general direction of DVS Director Steven Schwartz; Isabelle Horon, Branch Chief,
Reproductive Statistics Branch (RSB); and Joyce Martin, Team Leader, RSB
Birth Team. Rajesh Virkar, Chief of the Information Technology Branch (ITB),
and Steve J. Steimel, Annie S. Liu, and Jasmine N. Mickens of ITB provided
computer programming support and statistical tables. Steve J. Steimel and
Annie S. Liu prepared the natality file; Jasmine N. Mickens prepared the linked
birth/infant death data file. The Data Acquisition, Classification, and Evaluation
Branch staff of DVS evaluated the quality of and acceptance procedures for the
state data files on which this report is based. The National Center for Health
Statistics Office of Information Services, Information Design and Publishing
Staff, edited and produced this report: editor Jane Sudol, and typesetter and
graphic designer Odell D. Eldridge (contractor).
