Infant Mortality/SIDS and Hispanic Americans

Among Hispanic Americans, the infant mortality rate ranges from 4.4 per 1,000 live births for Cubans to 8.3 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 2.3 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 2005, infant mortality rates for Hispanic subpopulations ranged from 4.4 per 1,000 live births to 8.3 per 1,000 live births, compared to the non-Hispanic white infant mortality rate of 5.8 per 1,000 live births.
In 2005, 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 2.3 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, 2005**
Race of Mother	Infant mortality rate	Ratio vs. Non-Hispanic White
Non-Hispanic White	5.8	--
Total Hispanic	5.6	1.0
Mexican	5.5	0.9
Puerto Rican	8.3	1.4
Cuban	4.4	0.8
Central and South American	4.7	0.8

Source: CDC 2008. Infant Mortality Statistics from the 2005 Period Linked Birth/Infant Death Data Set. National Vital Statistics Reports 57(2). Table 2.
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr57/nvsr57_02.pdf [PDF, 745KB]

At a glance – Leading Causes of Infant Mortality:

**Infant deaths and mortality rates for the top 4 leading cause of death for Hispanics/Latinos, 2005. (Rates per 100,000 live births)**
Cause of Death (By rank)	# Total Hispanic Deaths	Hispanic Death Rate	#Non- Hispanic White Deaths	Non- Hispanic White Death Rate	Hispanic/ Non- Hispanic White Ratio
(1) Congenital malformations	1,373	139.3	2,851	125.0	1.1
(2) Low-Birthweight	892	90.5	1,725	75.7	1.2
(3) Maternal complications	299	30.3	734	32.2	0.9
(4) Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)	277	28.1	1,264	55.4	0.5

Source: CDC 2008. Infant Mortality Statistics from the 2005 Period Linked Birth/Infant Death Data Set. National Vital Statistics Reports 57(2). Table 7.
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr57/nvsr57_02.pdf [PDF, 745KB]

**Infant deaths and mortality rates for the top 4 leading cause of death for Mexican Americans, 2005. (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	1,020	147.1	2,851	125.0	1.2
(2) Low-Birthweight	595	85.8	1,725	75.7	1.1
(3) Maternal complications	209	30.1	734	32.2	0.9
(4) Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)	198	28.6	1,264	55.4	0.5

**Infant deaths and mortality rates for the top 4 leading cause of death for Puerto Rican Americans, 2005. (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	104	164.2	1,725	75.7	2.2
(2) Congenital malformations	87	137.4	2,851	125.0	1.1
(3) Maternal complications	41	64.7	734	32.2	2.0
(4) Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)	25	39.5	1,264	55.4	0.7

**Infant deaths and mortality rates for the leading cause of death for Central and South Americans, 2005. (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	174	115.1	2,851	125.0	0.9
(2) Low-Birthweight	117	77.4	1,725	75.7	1.0
(5) Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)	27	17.9	1,264	55.4	0.3

At a glance – Prenatal Care:

**Percentage of live births in which mother received prenatal care starting in the 1st trimester, 2005**
Race of Mother	% Received Prenatal Care	Ratio vs. Non-Hispanic White
Non-Hispanic White	88.7	--
Total Hispanic	77.6	0.9
Mexican	77.6	0.9
Puerto Rican	80.1	0.9
Cuban	86.2	1.0
Central and South American	76.6	0.9

Source: CDC 2008. Health United States, 2008. Table 7
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus08.pdf [PDF | 12.2MB]

**Percentage of live births in which mother received prenatal care starting in the 3rd trimester or did not receive prenatal care at all, 2005**
Race of Mother	% Received Late or No Prenatal Care	Ratio vs. Non-Hispanic White
Non-Hispanic White	2.2	--
Total Hispanic	5.1	2.3
Mexican	5.0	2.3
Puerto Rican	4.1	1.9
Cuban	2.5	1.1
Central and South American	5.6	2.5

Source: CDC 2008. Health United States, 2008. Table 7
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus08.pdf [PDF | 12.2MB]

At a glance – Characteristics of Mother:

**Percentage of mothers who smoked cigarettes during pregnancy, 2005**
Race of Mother	% Mothers Who Smoked	Ratio vs. Non-Hispanic White
Non-Hispanic White	13.9	--
Total Hispanic	2.9	0.2
Mexican	2.1	0.2
Puerto Rican	8.3	0.6
Cuban	5.3	0.4
Central and South American	1.1	0.1

Source: CDC 2008. Health United States, 2008. Table 11
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus08.pdf [PDF | 12.2MB]

**Percentage of live births in which mother had less than 12 years of education, 2004**
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

**Percentage of live births in which mother had 16 years or more of education, 2004**
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, 2005**
Hispanic	Non-Hispanic White	Hispanic/Non-Hispanic White Ratio
5.2	9.3	0.6

Source: CDC 2008. Health United States, 2008. Table 19
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus08.pdf [PDF | 12.2MB]

**Infant mortality rates among mothers 20 years of age and over, with over 13 years education, 2005**
Hispanic	Non-Hispanic White	Hispanic/Non-Hispanic White Ratio
4.6	4.1	1.1

Source: CDC 2008. Health United States, 2008. Table 19
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus08.pdf [PDF | 12.2MB]

**Infant mortality rate per 1,000 live births (All Hispanic Americans), 2005**
Age of mother	Total Hispanic	Non-Hispanic White	Hispanic/Non- Hispanic White Ratio
Under 20 years	7.2	10.0	0.7
20-24 years	5.5	7.1	0.8
25-29 years	4.9	5.1	1.0
30-34 years	5.3	4.4	1.2
35-39 years	6.0	5.1	1.2
40-54 years	7.7	6.6	1.2

**Infant mortality rate per 1,000 live births (Mexican Americans), 2005**
Age of mother	Mexican	Non-Hispanic White	Mexican/Non- Hispanic White Ratio
Under 20 years	6.9	10.0	0.7
20-24 years	5.4	7.1	0.8
25-29 years	4.7	5.1	0.9
30-34 years	5.4	4.4	1.2
35-39 years	6.1	5.1	1.2
40-54 years	8.3	6.6	1.3

**Infant mortality rate per 1,000 live births (Puerto Rican Americans), 2005**
Age of mother	Puerto Rican	Non-Hispanic White	Puerto Rican/Non- Hispanic White Ratio
Under 20 years	10.4	10.0	1.0
20-24 years	7.7	7.1	1.1
25-29 years	8.5	5.1	1.7
30-34 years	6.8	4.4	1.5
35-39 years	7.1	5.1	1.4
40-54 years	--	6.6	--

**Infant mortality rate per 1,000 live births (Central and South Americans), 2005**
Age of mother	Central and South Americans	Non-Hispanic White	Central and South American/Non- Hispanic White Ratio
Under 20 years	5.5	10.0	0.6
20-24 years	4.8	7.1	0.7
25-29 years	4.3	5.1	0.8
30-34 years	4.2	4.4	1.0
35-39 years	5.6	5.1	1.1
40-54 years	5.8	6.6	0.9

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Content Last Modified: 4/13/2009 3:19:00 PM