Infant mortality statistics from the 2000 period linked birth/infant death data set.

OBJECTIVES: This report presents the 2000 period infant mortality statistics from the linked birth/infant death data set (linked file) by a variety of maternal and infant characteristics.
METHODS: Descriptive tabulations of data are presented and interpreted.
RESULTS: Infant mortality rates ranged from 3.5 per 1,000 live births for Chinese mothers to 13.5 for black mothers. Among Hispanics, rates ranged from 4.5 for Cuban mothers to 8.2 for Puerto Rican mothers. Infant mortality rates were higher for those infants whose mothers had no prenatal care, were teenagers, had 9-11 years of education, were unmarried, or smoked during pregnancy. Infant mortality was also higher for male infants, multiple births, and infants born preterm or at low birthweight. The three leading causes of infant death--Congenital malformations, low birthweight, and Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)--taken together accounted for 45 percent of all infant deaths in the United States in 2000. Cause-specific mortality rates varied considerably by race and Hispanic origin. For infants of black mothers, the infant mortality rate for low birthweight was nearly four times that for white mothers. For infants of black and American Indian mothers, the SIDS rates were 2.4 and 2.3 times that for non-Hispanic white mothers.