How Many Kids Are Dying In US? Infant Mortality Rate Reaches New Low

Infant mortality, the death of children under the age of one year, is usually considered a yardstick for a country’s public health. Its rate, calculated by the number of deaths per 1,000 live births, in the United States reached a new low in the past decade, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in its report Tuesday.

The CDC noted there were 6.86 infant deaths per 1,000 live births in 2005. This rate drastically dropped by 15 percent to 5.82 in 2014. The CDC said it analyzed data from the National Vital Statistics System to arrive at trends by race, state and causes.

The report found that the highest mortality rates were observed among infants of non-Hispanic black women and American Indian or Alaska Native women.

The largest declines among the Hispanic subgroups were seen among Cuban and Puerto Rican women, a drop of 19 percent and 17 percent, respectively. According to the analysis, over the last 10 years, the infant mortality rate for Asian or Pacific Islander women and non-Hispanic black women declined 21 percent and 20 percent, respectively.

It concluded that infant mortality declined for all major groups except for American Indian or Alaska Native women.

Overall, 33 states and Washington, D.C., saw a decline in infant mortality rates, with nonsignificant changes in the other 17 states. The report noted that there was a dip of at least 16 percent in 11 states, while it was more than 20 percent in Connecticut, South Carolina, Colorado and D.C.

"I think there was a public health push in the past decade to figure out ways to lower this rate, and it has made an impact," T.J. Mathews, the report's author and a demographer at the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics, told CNN. "We know that there have been a lot of efforts across the country in cities and states where they're trying to figure out ways where they can lower the infant mortality rate."

According to the CDC, the five leading causes of infant deaths are congenital malformations, short gestation and low birthweight, sudden infant death syndrome, maternal complications and unintentional injuries. More than half of all such deaths in the U.S. in 2014 took place because of the aforementioned reasons.

The latest report identified congenital malformations as the leading cause of infant deaths for both the years under evaluation — 2005 and 2014. The CDC said that the infant mortality rates declined for four of the five leading causes of death.

"It's good news, but on the other hand, we have so much more to do," Dr. Paul Jarris, chief medical officer for the nonprofit March of Dimes, told CNN. "What is concerning, though, is that the inequities between non-Hispanic blacks and American Indians and the Caucasian population have persisted."