Infant Mortality/SIDS and Hispanic Americans

Among Hispanic Americans, the infant mortality rate ranges from 4.6 per 1,000 live births for Cubans to 7.8 per 1,000 live births for Puerto Ricans. Puerto Rican Americans have a 40% higher infant mortality rate as compared to non-Hispanic Whites. Hispanic mothers are 2.5 times more likely to begin prenatal care in the 3rd trimester or not receive prenatal care at all as compared to non-Hispanic white mothers.

In 2004, infant mortality rates for Hispanic subpopulations ranged from 4.6 per 1,000 live births to 7.8 per 1,000 live births, compared to the non-Hispanic white infant mortality rate of 5.7 per 1,000 live births.
In 2004, Puerto Ricans had 1.4 times the infant mortality rate of non-Hispanic whites.
Puerto Rican infants were twice as likely to die from causes related to low birthweight, compared to non-Hispanic white infants.
Mexican American mothers were 2.5 times as likely as non-Hispanic white mothers to begin prenatal care in the 3rd trimester, or not receive prenatal care at all.

At a glance – Infant Mortality Rate:

**Infant mortality rate per 1,000 live births, 2004**
Race of Mother	Infant mortality rate	Ratio vs. Non-Hispanic White
Non-Hispanic White	5.7	--
Total Hispanic	5.6	1.0
Mexican	5.5	1.0
Puerto Rican	7.8	1.4
Cuban	4.6	0.8
Central and South American	4.7	0.8

Source: CDC 2007. Infant Mortality Statistics from the 2004 Period Linked Birth/Infant Death Data Set. National Vital Statistics Reports 55(14). Table 2.
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr55/nvsr55_14.pdf

At a glance – Leading Causes of Infant Mortality:

**Infant deaths and mortality rates for the top 4 leading cause of death for Hispanics/Latinos, 2004. (Rates per 100,000 live births)**
Cause of Death (By rank)	# Hispanic Deaths	Hispanic Death Rate	#Non- Hispanic White Deaths	Non- Hispanic White Death Rate	Hispanic/ Non- Hispanic White Ratio
(1) Congenital malformations	1,308	138.2	2,969	129.3	1.1
(2) Low-Birthweight	816	86.2	1,770	77.1	1.1
(3) Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)	261	27.6	1,240	54.0	0.5
(4) Maternal complications	256	27.1	739	32.2	0.8

Source: CDC 2007. Infant Mortality Statistics from the 2004 Period Linked Birth/Infant Death Data Set. National Vital Statistics Reports 55(14). Table 7.
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr55/nvsr55_14.pdf

**Infant deaths and mortality rates for the top 4 leading cause of death for Mexican Americans, 2004. (Rates per 100,000 live births)**
Cause of Death (By rank)	# Mexican Deaths	Mexican Death Rate	#Non- Hispanic White Deaths	Non- Hispanic White Death Rate	Mexican/ Non- Hispanic White Ratio
(1) Congenital malformations	976	144.0	2,969	129.3	1.1
(2) Low-Birthweight	540	79.7	1,770	77.1	1.0
(3) Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)	181	26.7	1,240	54.0	0.5
(4) Maternal complications	168	24.8	739	32.2	0.8

**Infant deaths and mortality rates for the top 4 leading cause of death for Puerto Rican Americans, 2004. (Rates per 100,000 live births)**
Cause of Death (By rank)	# Puerto Rican Deaths	Puerto Rican Death Rate	#Non- Hispanic White Deaths	Non- Hispanic White Death Rate	Puerto Rican/ Non- Hispanic White Ratio
(1) Low-Birthweight	93	151.9	1,770	77.1	2.0
(2) Congenital malformations	78	127.4	2,969	129.3	1.0
(3) Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)	36	58.8	1,240	54.0	1.1
(4) Maternal complications	31	50.6	739	32.2	1.6

**Infant deaths and mortality rates for the leading cause of death for Central and South Americans, 2004. (Rates per 100,000 live births)**
Cause of Death (By rank)	# Central/South American Deaths	Central/South American Death Rate	#Non- Hispanic White Deaths	Non- Hispanic White Death Rate	Central/South American/ Non-Hispanic White Ratio
(1) Congenital malformations	157	109.4	2,969	129.3	0.8
(2) Low-Birthweight	108	75.3	1,770	77.1	1.0
(7) Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)	23	16.0	1,240	54.0	0.3

At a glance – Prenatal Care:

Prenatal care began during the 1st trimester, 2004

**(% of live births in which mother received prenatal care starting in the 1st trimester)**
Race of Mother	% Received Prenatal Care	Ratio vs. Non-Hispanic White
Non-Hispanic White	88.9	--
Total Hispanic	77.5	0.9
Mexican	77.2	0.9
Puerto Rican	79.9	0.9
Cuban	86.6	1.0
Central and South American	77.6	0.9

Source: CDC 2007. Health United States, 2007. Table 7
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus07.pdf

Prenatal care began during the 3rd trimester or mother received no prenatal care, 2004

**(% of live births in which mother received prenatal care starting in the 3rd trimester or did not receive prenatal care at all)**
Race of Mother	% Received Late or No Prenatal Care	Ratio vs. Non-Hispanic White
Non-Hispanic White	2.2	--
Total Hispanic	5.4	2.5
Mexican	5.5	2.5
Puerto Rican	3.9	1.8
Cuban	2.9	1.3
Central and South American	5.1	2.3

Source: CDC 2007. Health United States, 2007. Table 7
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus07.pdf

At a glance – Characteristics of Mother:

**Percentage of mothers who smoked cigarettes during pregnancy, 2004**
Race of Mother	% Mothers Who Smoked	Ratio vs. Non-Hispanic White
Non-Hispanic White	13.8	--
Total Hispanic	2.6	0.2
Mexican	2.0	0.1
Puerto Rican	8.5	0.6
Cuban	6.4	0.5
Central and South American	1.2	0.1

Source: CDC 2007. Health United States, 2007. Table 12
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus07.pdf

Maternal education, 2004

**% of live births in which mother had less than 12 years of education**
Race of Mother	% Live Births	Ratio vs. Non-Hispanic White
Non-Hispanic White	11.0	--
Total Hispanic	48.4	4.4
Mexican	52.5	4.8
Puerto Rican	31.6	2.9
Cuban	13.0	1.2
Central and South American	39.1	3.6

Source: CDC 2007. Health United States, 2007. Table 11
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus07.pdf

**% of live births in which mother had 16 years or more of education**
Race of Mother	% Live Births	Ratio vs. Non-Hispanic White
Non-Hispanic White	37.0	--
Total Hispanic	8.0	0.2
Mexican	6.1	0.2
Puerto Rican	12.0	0.3
Cuban	35.4	1.0
Central and South American	14.2	0.9

Source: CDC 2007. Health United States, 2007. Table 11
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus07.pdf

**Infant mortality rates among mothers 20 years of age and over, less than 12 years education**
Hispanic	Non-Hispanic White	Hispanic/Non-Hispanic White Ratio
5.4	9.0	0.6

Source: CDC 2007. Health United States, 2007. Table 20
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus07.pdf

**Infant mortality rates among mothers 20 years of age and over, with over 13 years education**
Hispanic	Non-Hispanic White	Hispanic/Non-Hispanic White Ratio
4.7	4.1	1.1

Source: CDC 2007. Health United States, 2007. Table 20
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus07.pdf

Age of mother, 2004

**Infant mortality rate per 1,000 live births (All Hispanic Americans)**
Age of mother	Hispanic	Non-Hispanic White	Hispanic/Non- Hispanic White Ratio
Under 20 years	6.7	9.6	0.7
20-24 years	5.4	6.9	0.8
25-29 years	4.8	4.9	1.0
30-34 years	5.3	4.4	1.2
35-39 years	6.3	5.2	1.2
40-54 years	10.0	7.1	1.4

**Infant mortality rate per 1,000 live births (Mexican Americans)**
Age of mother	Mexican	Non-Hispanic White	Mexican/Non- Hispanic White Ratio
Under 20 years	6.4	9.6	0.7
20-24 years	5.3	6.9	0.8
25-29 years	4.6	4.9	0.9
30-34 years	5.4	4.4	1.2
35-39 years	6.5	5.2	1.3
40-54 years	9.9	7.1	1.4

**Infant mortality rate per 1,000 live births (Puerto Rican Americans)**
Age of mother	Puerto Rican	Non-Hispanic White	Puerto Rican/Non- Hispanic White Ratio
Under 20 years	9.9	9.6	1.0
20-24 years	7.4	6.9	1.1
25-29 years	7.8	4.9	1.6
30-34 years	6.9	4.4	1.6
35-39 years	5.9	5.2	1.1
40-54 years	--	7.1	--

**Infant mortality rate per 1,000 live births (Central and South Americans)**
Age of mother	Central and South Americans	Non-Hispanic White	Central and South American/Non- Hispanic White Ratio
Under 20 years	5.0	9.6	0.5
20-24 years	4.3	6.9	0.6
25-29 years	4.5	4.9	0.9
30-34 years	4.3	4.4	1.0
35-39 years	5.3	5.2	1.0
40-54 years	8.6	7.1	1.2

You will need Adobe Acrobat® Reader™ to view PDF files located on this site. If you do not already have Adobe Acrobat® Reader™, you can download here for free.

Content Last Modified: 6/10/2008 1:26:00 PM