Infant Mortality and American Indians/Alaska Natives

American Indian/Alaska Natives have 1.5 times the infant mortality rate as non-Hispanic whites. American Indian/Alaska Native babies are twice as likely as non-Hispanic white babies to die from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), but they are less likely to die from complications related to low birthweight or congenital malformations as compared to non-Hispanic whites babies. American Indian/Alaska Native infants are 3.6 times as likely as non-Hispanic white infants to have mothers who began 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**
American Indian/Alaska Native	White	All Races	American Indian/Alaska Native /Non- Hispanic White Ratio
8.6	5.7	6.8	1.5

Source: CDC 2007. Infant Mortality Statistics from the 2004 Period Linked Birth/Infant Death Data Set. National Vital Statistics Reports 55(14). Table 1.
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr54/nvsr54_14.pdf

At a glance – Leading Causes of Infant Mortality:

**Infant deaths and mortality rates for the top 3 leading cause of death for American Indian/Alaska Native, 2004. (Rates per 100,000 live births)**
Cause of Death (By rank)	# American Indian/Alaska Native Deaths	American Indian/Alaska Native Death Rate	#Non- Hispanic White Deaths	Non- Hispanic White Death Rate	American Indian/Alaska Native/Non- Hispanic White Ratio
(1) Congenital malformations	89	202.6	2,969	129.3	1.6
(2) Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)	44	100.2	1,240	54.0	1.9
(3) Low-Birthweight	29	66.0	1,770	77.1	0.9

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

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)**
American Indian/Alaska Native	Non-Hispanic White	American Indian/Alaska Native/Non-Hispanic White Ratio
69.9	88.9	0.8

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)**
American Indian/Alaska Native	Non-Hispanic White	American Indian/Alaska Native/Non-Hispanic White Ratio
7.9	2.2	3.6

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**
American Indian/Alaska Native	Non-Hispanic White	American Indian/Alaska Native/Non-Hispanic White Ratio
18.2	13.8	1.3

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**
American Indian/Alaska Native	Non-Hispanic White	American Indian/Alaska Native/Non-Hispanic White Ratio
30.1	11.0	2.7

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**
American Indian/Alaska Native	Non-Hispanic White	American Indian/Alaska Native/Non-Hispanic White Ratio
8.6	37.0	0.2

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**
American Indian/Alaska Native	Non-Hispanic White	American Indian/Alaska Native/ Non-Hispanic White Ratio
10.6	9.0	1.2

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**
American Indian/Alaska Native	Non-Hispanic White	American Indian/Alaska Native/ Non-Hispanic White Ratio
6.0	4.1	1.5

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**
Age of mother	American Indian/Alaska Native	White	American Indian/Alaska Native/Non- Hispanic White Ratio
Under 20 years	8.8	8.3	1.1
20-24 years	8.9	6.5	1.4
25-29 years	7.7	4.9	1.6
30-34 years	7.9	4.6	1.7
35-39 years	7.4	5.4	1.4
40-54 years	---	7.7	--

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Content Last Modified: 6/10/2008 1:27:00 PM