Infant Mortality in New York

New York

Losing an infant is devastating for parents, families and communities, and for the bereaved parents can result in an extreme and debilitating grief that affects daily activities and interpersonal relationships. Nearly 20,000 infants died in the United States in 2021. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the leading causes of infant death were congenital abnormalities, low birth weight or preterm birth and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).

The infant mortality rate in the U.S. is consistently and considerably worse than in other developed countries. Research indicates that racial/ethnic inequality in the U.S. is likely a primary contributor to this disparity.

Significant disparities persist in infant mortality among different racial/ethnic groups, with the most striking difference between babies born to non-Hispanic Black women and babies born to non-Hispanic white or Asian women. 

Other populations with higher rates of infant mortality include:

• Women younger than 25 or older than 40, compared with those ages 25-40.
• Those living in high-poverty counties compared with those in low- and middle-poverty counties.
• Those living in rural counties compared with those in urban counties.

Considerable progress has been made in the U.S. over the past 50 years to reduce infant mortality rates; however, more needs to be done to eliminate disparities and ensure continued progress. It is important to implement a variety of strategies to reduce infant mortality. Key areas for prenatal and postnatal interventions include:

• Improving access to and use of ongoing prenatal care.
• Reducing maternal smoking and alcohol consumption.
• Reducing maternal obesity.
• Improving preconception health for all women.
• Improving sleep practices among infants and newborns. Injuries such as suffocation cause many infant deaths annually. The CDC and American Academy of Pediatrics provide detailed guidelines on eliminating sleep hazards for your baby.
• Increasing the minimum wage, which is associated with a reduction in low birth weight births and infant deaths.

Healthy People 2030 has an objective to reduce infant mortality. It also has several related objectives, including reducing preterm births, increasing the proportion of women who have a healthy weight before pregnancy and increasing the proportion of women who receive early and adequate prenatal care.

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