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Infant Deaths

Linked Birth / Infant Death Records Data Summary

1995 - 2005

Summary This data collection provides counts and rates for deaths of children under 1 year of age, occurring within the United States to U.S. residents. Information from death certificates has been linked to corresponding birth certificates. Data are available by county of mother's residence, child's age, underlying cause of death, gender, birth weight, birth plurality, birth order, gestational age at birth, period of prenatal care, maternal race and ethnicity, maternal age, maternal education and marital status.
Population Live births and infant (age under 365 days) deaths to maternal residents of the United States, 1995 - 2005.

Source

United States Department of Health and Human Services (US DHHS),
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),
National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS),
Division of Vital Statistics (DVS),
Linked Birth / Infant Death Records 1995-2005.
on CDC WONDER On-line Database.

In WONDER You can produce tables, maps, charts, and data extracts. Request national, state and county summary counts of infant deaths, live births and infant death rates for the years 1995-2005. You can limit and index your data by any and all of these variables:
  1. Location - National, State and County (total population of 250,000 or more; no territories) of mother's legal residence at the time of birth.

    Mother's Characteristics:
  2. Age of Mother - under 15 years; 5 year age groups through age 54.
  3. Maternal Education - 0- 8 years; 9-11 years; 12 years; 13-15 years; 16 years and over; Not stated.
  4. Maternal Hispanic Origin - Mexican; Puerto Rican; Cuban; Central or South American; Other and Unknown Hispanic; Non-Hispanic White; Non-Hispanic Black; Non-Hispanic other races; Not stated.
  5. Maternal Race
    Years 1995-2002: American Indian (includes Aleute and Eskimo); Black; Chinese; Filipino; Hawaiian (includes part-Hawaiian); Japanese; Other Asian or Pacific Islander; White.
    Years 2003-2005: American Indian / Alaskan Native; Asian / Pacific Islander; Black; White.
  6. Marital Status - Married; Unmarried; Unknown or not stated.

    Birth Characteristics:
  7. Month When Maternal Prenatal Care Began - No prenatal care; 1st month through 9th month of pregnancy; Not stated.
  8. Gestational Age at Birth
    Years 1995-1998: Under 20 weeks; 20-27 weeks; 28-31 weeks; 32-35 weeks; 36 weeks; 37-39 weeks; 40 weeks; 41 weeks; 42 weeks; Not stated.
    Years 1999-2005:
  9. Gestational Age - new: Under 20 weeks; 20-27 weeks; 28-31 weeks; 32-33 weeks; 34-36 weeks; 37-39 weeks; 40 weeks; 41 weeks; 42 or more weeks; Unknown.
  10. Gestational Age - old: Under 20 weeks; 20-27 weeks; 28-31 weeks; 32-35 weeks; 36 weeks; 37-39 weeks; 40 weeks; 41 weeks; 42 weeks; Not stated.
  11. Gestational Age - weekly: 17 weeks; 18 weeks; 19 weeks; 20 weeks; 21 weeks; 22 weeks; 23 weeks; 24 weeks; 25 weeks; 26 weeks; 27 weeks; 28 weeks; 29 weeks; 30 weeks; 31 weeks; 32 weeks; 33 weeks; 34 weeks; 35 weeks; 36 weeks; 37 weeks; 38 weeks; 39 weeks; 40 weeks; 41 weeks; 42 weeks; 43 weeks; 44 weeks; 45 weeks; 46 weeks; 47 weeks; Unknown.
  12. Birth Weight - 499 grams or less; 500 - 999 grams; 1000 - 1499 grams; 1500 - 1999 grams; 2000 - 2499 grams; 2500 - 2999 grams; 3000 - 3499 grams; 3500 - 3999 grams; 4000 - 4499 grams; 4500 - 4999 grams; 5000 - 8165 grams; not stated.
  13. Plurality or Multiple Birth - Single; Twin; Triplet; Quadruplet; Quintuplet or more.
  14. Live Birth Order - One child born alive to mother through six live births, and Not Stated.
    Years 1999-2005 only:
  15. Birthplace - In Hospital; Not in Hospital; Unknown or Not Stated.
  16. Delivery Method - Cesarean, Not Stated, and Vaginal.
  17. Medical Attendant - Certified Nurse Midwife (CNM); Doctor of Medicine (MD); Doctor of Osteopathy (DO); Other; Other Midwife; Unknown or Not Stated.

    Cause of Infant's Death:
    Years 1999-2005 only:
  18. International Classification of Diseases, revision 10 chapters, sub-chapters and specific causes of death.
  19. 130 Selected Causes of Infant Death grouped causes of death in International Classification of Diseases, revision 10.
    Years 1995-1998 only:
  20. International Classification of Diseases, revision 9 chapters, sub-chapters and specific causes of death.
  21. 72 Selected Causes of Death grouped causes of death in International Classification of Diseases, revision 9.

    Infant's Characteristics:
  22. Age of Infant at Death - under 1 hour; 1-23 hours; 1-6 days; 7-27 days; 28-364 days.
  23. Year of Death - 1995-2005.
  24. Gender (sex) of Child - Female; Male.

Please refer to the following topics:

Linked Birth / Infant Death Records Data Request
Data Source Information
Additional Information

Linked Birth / Infant Death Records Data Request

Output You can produce tables, maps, charts, and data extracts.

How? The Request screen has sections to guide you through the making a data request as step-by-step process. However, to get your first taste of how the system works, you might want to simply press any Send button, and execute the default data request. The data results for your query appear on the Table screen. After you get your data results, try the Chart and Map screens. Or export your data to a file (tab-delimited line listing) for download to your computer.

For more information, see the following:

Quick Start Guide;
Step 1, Organize your request;
Step 2, Select location of maternal residence;
Step 3, Select other maternal characteristics;
Step 4, Select birth characteristics;
Step 5, Select cause of infant death;
Step 6, Select infant characteristics;
Step 7, Other options.

Help Click on any button labeled "Help", located to the right hand side of the screen at the top of each section. Each Control's label, such as the "Location" label next to the Location entry box, is linked to the on-line help for that item.
Send Sends your data request to be processed on the CDC WONDER databases. The Send buttons are located on the bottom of the Request page, and also in the upper right corner of each section, for easy access.
Variables You can limit and index your data by any the variables listed above.

Step 1. Organize table layout:

Select up to five variables that serve as keys for grouping your data. For example, you could select to group (summarize, stratify, index) your data by Year, State, Race and Gestational Age.
How?    See How do I organize my data? for more information. Also, see How do I select items from the list box?

Hints:   
  1. To make a map, you must request data with a geographic location variable, such as State, as a "By-Variable." Then click the Map tab.
  2. You cannot make charts when your data has more than two By-Variables.
Title  Enter any desired description to display as a title with your results.

Step 2. Select maternal residence:

Limit the population to specific locations here. Alternately, you can leave the settings at the default values (the United States) and choose to organize or group the data results by Region, State or County to show these stratifications.

Location: Regions, States and Counties

This dataset includes regions / divisions, states (no territories) and counties with a total population over 250,000 persons. Use this field to specify the location or locations for the query. Select any number of locations.

How? Hints:
  • The Advanced mode let you easily pick several items from different parts of the list. Items are not selected until you click the "Move" button in Advanced mode. You may also enter values by hand, one code per line, in the Advanced mode. Use the Finder to see the correct code format. For example, 02 is the Alaska state code.
  • The "plus" symbol, "+" indicates that you can open the item, to see more items below it.
  • The results to a search are shown in blue, and indicated by ">".

    • Notes:   

    • About geographic classification:
      For events to be included in the linked file, both the birth and death must occur inside the fifty states and the District of Columbia. Tabulations of linked data and denominator data events occurring in each of the respective areas to nonresidents are excluded from tabulations by place of residence. These exclusions are based on the place of residence of the mother.
    • Because of confidentiality concerns, only those counties with a population size of 250,000 or more are separately identified in this data set.
    • State and County codes are Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) codes. See the Locations section below for more information about how county FIPS codes have been modified for use in NCHS public-use data.
    • The state, region and division data are derived from the "STRESFIPB" variable in the public use files for years 1999-2002, and from "MRSTATEFIPS" in the public use files for years 2003-2004, and from "MRTERR" for year 2005. The county data are derived from the combined values in variables "STRESFIPB" + "CNTYRFPB" in the public use files for years 1999-2002, and from "MRSTATEFIPS" + "MRCNTYFIPS" in the public use files for years 2003-2004, and from "MRTERR"+ "MRCNTY" for year 2005.
    • When the data results are exported, there are separate columns for location label and code values. To see the full set of available location values, group the data by Region, State and County, and export the results.


    Step 3. Select other maternal characteristics:

    Limit your data for any of the following data elements:

    1. Age of Mother - under 15 years; 5 year age groups through age 54.
    2. Maternal Education - 0 - 8 years; 9 - 11 years; 12 years; 13 - 15 years; 16 years and over; Not stated.
    3. Maternal Hispanic Origin - Mexican; Puerto Rican; Cuban; Central or South American; Other and Unknown Hispanic; Non-Hispanic White; Non-Hispanic Black; Non-Hispanic other races; Not stated.
    4. Maternal Race - American Indian (includes Aleute and Eskimo); Black; Chinese; Filipino; Hawaiian (includes part-Hawaiian); Japanese; Other Asian or Pacific Islander; White.
    5. Marital Status - Married; Unmarried; Unknown or not stated.
    How? See How do I select items from the list box?

    Age of Mother

    This field indicates the age group of the mother at the time of birth.

    How?     See How do I select items from the list box?.

    Notes:   

    • Data for mother's age at time of birth are derived from the "MAGER9" variable in the public use data.
    • When the data results are exported to a file, the Age Group code is shown in a separate column from the category label.

       Code Label
       "15"  Under 15 years 
       "15-19"  15 - 19 years 
       "20-24"  20 - 24 years 
       "25-29"  25 - 29 years 
       "30-34"  30 - 34 years 
       "35-39"  35 - 39 years 
       "40-44"  40 - 44 years 
       "45-49"  45 - 49 years 
       "50-54"  50 - 54 years 

    Maternal Education

    This field indicates a range for the number of years of education received by the mother at the time of birth.

    How?     See How do I select items from the list box?.

    • About excluded maternal education data for years 2003-2005:
      Education data are recoded to "Excluded" for those states that have implemented the 2003 revision of the U.S. Standard Certificate of Birth, because their data for maternal education are not comparable to the data from the other states that still use the 1989 revision of the U.S. Standard Certificate of Birth. The following states have maternal education data excluded:
      • Pennsylvania and Washington state for deaths that occurred in 2003;
      • Florida, Idaho, Kentucky, New Hampshire, New York (excluding New York City), Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee and Washington state (9 states) for deaths that occurred in 2004;
      • Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New York (excluding New York City), Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont and Washington state (13 states) for deaths that occurred in 2005.
    • Maternal Education data are derived from the "MEDUC6" variable in the public use data for years 1995-2002, and derived from the "MEDUC_REC" variable in the public use data for years 2003-2005.
    • When the data results are exported to a file, the Maternal Education codes are shown in a separate column from the category labels. Public Health Information Network (PHIN) compatible codes are used when applicable.

       Code Label
       "19176"  0 - 8 years 
       "19177"  9 - 11 years 
       "19178"  12 years 
       "19179"  13 - 15 years 
       "16+"  16 years and over 
       "NR"  Not stated 
       "999"  Excluded 

    Maternal Hispanic Origin

    This field indicates the Hispanic ethnicity of the mother.

    How?     See How do I select items from the list box?.

    Notes:   

    • Maternal Hispanic origin data are derived from the "ORRACEM" variable in the public use data for years 1999-2002, and derived from the "MRACEHISP" variable in the public use data for years 2003-2005.
    • When the data results are exported to a file, the Maternal Hispanic Origin code is shown in a separate column from the category label. Public Health Information Network (PHIN) compatible codes are used when applicable.

       Code Label
       "2148-5"  Mexican 
       "2180-8"  Puerto Rican 
       "2182-4"  Cuban 
       "4"  Central or South American 
       "5"  Other and Unknown Hispanic 
       "6"  Non-Hispanic White 
       "7"  Non-Hispanic Black 
       "8"  Non - Hispanic other races 
       "9"  Not stated 

    Maternal Race

    This field indicates the race of the mother. The 1995-2002 data categorize race by 8 values. The 2003-2005 data categorize race by 4 values.

    How?     See How do I select items from the list box?.

    Notes:   

    • Maternal race data (8 categories) are derived from the "MRACE" variable in the public use data for years 1995-2002. Maternal race data (4 categories) are derived from the "MRACEREC" variable in the public use data for years 2003-2005.
    • When the data results are exported to a file, the Maternal Race code is shown in a separate column from the category label. Public Health Information Network (PHIN) compatible codes are used when applicable.

      Race Categories for Years 1995 - 2002
         Code Label
         "1002-5"  American Indian 
         "2054-5"  Black 
         "2034-7"  Chinese 
         "2036-2"  Filipino 
         "2076-8"  Hawaiian 
         "2039-6"  Japanese 
         "2028-9"  Other Asian 
         "2106-3"  White 


      Race Categories for Years 2003 and later
         Code Label
         "1002-5"  American Indian / Alaskan Native 
         "API"  Asian / Pacific Islander 
         "2054-5"  Black 
         "2106-3"  White 

    Marital Status

    This field indicates the marital status of the mother as recorded on the birth certificate.

    How?     See How do I select items from the list box?.

    Notes:   

    • Data for the mother's marital status are derived from the "DMAR" variable in the public use data for years 1995-2002, and from the "MAR" variable in the public use data for years 2003-2005.
    • When the data results are exported to a file, the Marital Status code is shown in a separate column from the category label.

       Code Label
       "01"  Married 
       "02"  Unmarried 
       "9"  Unknown or not stated 


    Step 4. Select birth characteristics:

    Limit your data for any of the following data elements:

    1. Month When Maternal Prenatal Care Began - No prenatal care; 1st month through 9th month of pregnancy; Not stated.
    2. Gestational Age at Birth - Under 20 weeks; 20 - 27 weeks; 28 - 31 weeks; 32 - 35 weeks; 36 weeks; 37 - 39 weeks; 40 weeks; 41 weeks; 42 weeks; Not stated.
    3. Birth Weight - 499 grams or less; 500 - 999 grams; 1000 - 1499 grams; 1500 - 1999 grams; 2000 - 2499 grams; 2500 - 2999 grams; 3000 - 3499 grams; 3500 - 3999 grams; 4000 - 4499 grams; 4500 - 4999 grams; 5000 - 8165 grams; not stated.
    4. Plurality or Multiple Birth - Single; Twin; Triplet; Quadruplet; Quintuplet or more.
    5. Live Birth Order - One child born alive to mother through six live births, and Not Stated.
      Years 2003-2005 only:
    6. Birthplace - In Hospital; Not in Hospital; Unknown or Not Stated.
    7. Delivery Method - Cesarean, Not Stated, and Vaginal.
    8. Medical Attendant - Certified Nurse Midwife (CNM); Doctor of Medicine (MD); Doctor of Osteopathy (DO); Other; Other Midwife; Unknown or Not Stated.
    How? See How do I select items from the list box?

    Month Prenatal Care Began

    This field indicates the month in the pregnancy when prenatal care began.

    How?     See How do I select items from the list box?.

    Notes:   

    • About excluded prenatal care data:
      Prenatal care data are recoded to "Excluded" for those states that have implemented the 2003 revision of the U.S. Standard Certificate of Birth, because their data for prenatal care are not comparable to the data from the other states that still use the 1989 revision of the U.S. Standard Certificate of Birth. The following states have prenatal care data excluded:
      • Pennsylvania and Washington state for deaths that occurred in 2003;
      • Florida, Idaho, Kentucky, New Hampshire, New York (excluding New York City), Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee and Washington state (9 states) for deaths that occurred in 2004;
      • Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New York (excluding New York City), Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont and Washington state (13 states) for deaths that occurred in 2005.
    • Prenatal care data are derived from the "MONPRE" variable in the public use data for years 1995-2002, and derived from the "MPCB" variable in the public use data for years 2003-2005.
    • When the data results are exported to a file, the code is shown in a separate column from the category label.

       Code Label
       "00"  No prenatal care  
       "01"  1st month  
       "02"  2nd month  
       "03"  3rd month  
       "04"  4th month  
       "05"  5th month  
       "06"  6th month  
       "07"  7th month  
       "08"  8th month  
       "09"  9th month  
       "11"  Excluded  
       "12"  Unknown or not stated  

    Gestational Age at Birth

    Select a range of weeks that represents the duration of the pregnancy at the time of birth. The "Gestational Age at Birth" data for years 1995-1998 correspond to the "Gestational Age - old" data for years 1999 and later. Data for years 1999 and later are organized in three lists:

    1. Gestational Age - new: Under 20 weeks; 20-27 weeks; 28-31 weeks; 32-33 weeks; 34-36 weeks; 37-39 weeks; 40 weeks; 41 weeks; 42 or more weeks; Unknown.
    2. Gestational Age - old: Under 20 weeks; 20-27 weeks; 28-31 weeks; 32-35 weeks; 36 weeks; 37-39 weeks; 40 weeks; 41 weeks; 42 weeks; Not stated.
    3. Gestational Age - weekly: 17 weeks; 18 weeks; 19 weeks; 20 weeks; 21 weeks; 22 weeks; 23 weeks; 24 weeks; 25 weeks; 26 weeks; 27 weeks; 28 weeks; 29 weeks; 30 weeks; 31 weeks; 32 weeks; 33 weeks; 34 weeks; 35 weeks; 36 weeks; 37 weeks; 38 weeks; 39 weeks; 40 weeks; 41 weeks; 42 weeks; 43 weeks; 44 weeks; 45 weeks; 46 weeks; 47 weeks; Unknown.

    How?  
    • Click a round button to switch between the gestational age lists for years 1999 and later.
    • Select your desired age groups. See How do I select items from the list box?.
    • Hint:
      You can only pick 1 gestational age list for any data request. The round radio button indicates the selected list, any selections in the other gestational age at birth lists are ignored. The gestational age at birth "by-variables" in section 1 and the radio button selections must match. For example, if you select to group by "Gestational Age - weekly," then the radio button automatically sets to the "Gestational Age - weekly" selection list. If you change the radio button to a different list, then the "by-variable" also changes to match.

    Notes:   

    • When the data results are exported to a file, the Gestational Age codes are shown in a separate column from the category label.
    • The "Gestational Age - new" data are derived from the "COMBGEST" variable in the public use data for years 1999 and later.
    • The "Gestational Age at Birth" data for years 1995-1998 and the "Gestational Age - old" data are derived from the "GESTAT10" variable in the public use data for years 1995-2002, and derived from the "GESTREC10" variable in the public use data for years 2003 and later.
    • The "Gestational Age - weekly" data are derived from the "COMBGEST" variable in the public use data for years 1999 and later.

    Birth Weight

    The Birth Weight field indicates weight ranges for the child at birth.

    How?     See How do I select items from the list box?.

    Notes:   

    • About low birth weight:
      ICD - 9 and ICD - 10 define low birthweight as less than 2,500 grams. This is a shift of 1 gram from the previous criterion of 2,500 grams or less, which was recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics in 1935 and adopted in 1948 by the World Health Organization in the International Lists of Diseases and Causes of Death, Sixth Revision.
    • About comparing grams to pounds and ounces :
      The categories in gram intervals and their equivalents in pounds and ounces are as follows:
      Less than 500 grams = 1 lb 1 oz or less
      500 - 999 grams = 1 lb 2 oz - 2 lb 3 oz
      1,000 - 1,499 grams = 2 lb 4 oz - 3 lb 4 oz
      1,500 - 1,999 grams = 3 lb 5 oz - 4 lb 6 oz
      2,000 - 2,499 grams = 4 lb 7 oz - 5 lb 8 oz
      2,500 - 2,999 grams = 5 lb 9 oz - 6 lb 9 oz
      3,000 - 3,499 grams = 6 lb 10 oz - 7 lb 11 oz
      3,500 - 3,999 grams = 7 lb 12 oz - 8 lb 13 oz
      4,000 - 4,499 grams = 8 lb l4 oz - 9 lb l4 oz
      4,500 - 4,999 grams = 9 lb 15 oz - 11 lb 0 oz
      5,000 grams or more = 11 lb l oz or more
    • Birth weight data are derived from the "BIRWT12" variable in the public use data for years 1995-2002 and 2004, and derived from the "BWTR14" variable in the public use data for years 2003 and 2005.
    • When the data results are exported to a file, the Birth Weight code is shown in a separate column from the category label. See the table below.

       Code Label
       "01"  499 grams or less 
       "02"  500 - 999 grams 
       "03"  1000 - 1499  
       "04"  1500 - 1999 grams 
       "05"  2000 - 2499 grams 
       "06"  2500 - 2999 grams 
       "07"  3000 - 3499 grams 
       "08"  3500 - 3999 grams 
       "09"  4000 - 4499 grams 
       "10"  4500 - 4999 grams 
       "11"  5000 - 8165 grams 
       "12"  Not stated 

    Plurality or Multiple Birth

    The Plurality field indicates if more than one infant shared the gestation and birth.

    How?     See How do I select items from the list box?.

    • Notes:   
    • Plurality data are derived from the "DPLURAL" variable in the public use data for years 1995-2005.
    • Data for 1995-1998 only indicates 3 categories:  Single; Twin; Triplet or higher.
    • When the data results are exported to a file, the Plurality code is shown in a separate column from the category label.

       Code Label
       "1"  Single 
       "2"  Twin 
       "3"  Triplet 
       "4"  Quadruplet 
       "5"  Quintuplet or more

    Live Birth Order

    This field indicates the mother's total number of live births, including this birth.

    How?     See How do I select items from the list box?.

    Notes:   

    • Live birth order data are derived from the "DLIVORD" variable in the public use data for years 1995-2002, and derived from the "LBO" variable in the years 2003-2005 .
    • When the data results are exported to a file, the code is shown in a separate column from the category label.

       Code Label
       "01"  One child born alive to mother 
       "02"  Two children born alive to mother 
       "03"  Three children born alive to mother 
       "04"  Four children born alive to mother 
       "05"  Five children born alive to mother 
       "06"  Six or more children born alive to mother 
       "07"  Not stated 

    Birthplace

    This field indicates the place of birth. Birthplace data are only included for births occurring in the year 1999 and later.

    How?     See How do I select items from the list box?.

    Notes:   

    • Birthplace data are derived from the "PLDEL" variable in the public use data for years 1999-2002, and derived from the "BFACIL3" variable in the years 2003-2005 .
    • When the data results are exported to a file, the code is shown in a separate column from the category label.

       Code Label
       "1"   In Hospital  
       "2"   Not in Hospital  
       "3"   Unknown or Not Stated  

    Delivery Method

    This field indicates whether the baby was born by Cesarean section or vaginal birth. Method of delivery data are only included for births occurring in the year 1999 and later.

    How?     See How do I select items from the list box?.

    Notes:   

    • Method of delivery data are derived from the "DELMETH5" variable in the public use data for years 1999-2002, and derived from the "DMETH_REC" variable in the years 2003-2005 .
    • When the data results are exported to a file, the code is shown in a separate column from the category label.

       Code Label
       "1"   Vaginal  
       "2"   Cesarean  
       "3"   Not Stated  

    Medical Attendant

    This field indicates the attendant at the time of birth. Birth attendant data are only included for births occurring in the year 1999 and later.

    How?     See How do I select items from the list box?.

    Notes:   

    • Birth Attendant data are derived from the "BIRATTND" variable in the public use data for years 1999-2002, and derived from the "ATTEND" variable in the years 2003-2005 .
    • When the data results are exported to a file, the code is shown in a separate column from the category label.

       Code Label
       "3"   Certified Nurse Midwife (CNM)  
       "1"   Doctor of Medicine (MD)  
       "2"   Doctor of Osteopathy (DO)  
       "5"   Other  
       "4"   Other Midwife  
       "9"   Unknown or Not Stated  


    Step 5. Select cause of infant death:
    Select the International Classification of Disease (ICD) categories that represent the underlying cause of death from the death certificate. Any number of causes can be specified here. However, you can only request data from one of the lists: the ICD codes (organized by chapters, sub-chapters and codes), or the groups of selected causes of death (organized by group and codes). Be sure the radio button for ICD Codes or ICD Groups is set to your choice. Or, you can leave the field empty to select all causes of death, and choose to organize or group the data results by these variables to show these stratifications.
    How?
    • Click a round button to switch between the ICD chapter and code list, or by the Selected Causes group and ICD code list.
    • See How do I use a Finder? for more information.
    Hints:
    • The default is all values (all causes of death).
    • The Advanced mode let you easily pick several items from different parts of the list. Items are not selected until you click the "Move" button in Advanced mode. You may also enter values by hand, one code per line, in the Advanced mode. Use the Finder to see the correct code format. For example, "GR130-120" the Selected Causes group code for Congenital hydrocephalus. .
    • The "plus" symbol, "+" indicates that you can open the item, to see more items below it.
    • The results to a search are shown in blue, and indicated by ">".
    Notes:
    • About the International Classification of Diseases:
      The mortality data are compiled in accordance with the World Health Organization (WHO) regulations, which specify that member nations classify and code causes of death in accordance with the current revision of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD). The International Classification of Diseases is developed collaboratively between the World Health Organization (WHO) and 10 international centers, for purposes of ensuring that medical terms reported on death certificates are internationally comparable and lend themselves to statistical analysis. The ICD has been revised approximately every 10 years since 1900 in order to reflect changes in understanding of disease mechanisms and in disease terminology.
    • About the 9th and 10th ICD revisions:
      During the years 1979-1998, the United States used the Ninth Revision of the ICD (ICD-9) to code causes of death. Effective with deaths occurring in 1999, the United States began using the Tenth Revision of this classification, (ICD-10). The two revisions differ substantially, and to prevent confusion about the significance of any specific disease code, data queries are separate. For more information, see Comparability of Cause-of-Death Between ICD Revisions.
    • About selecting causes of death for infants:

    ICD-10 Codes

    Limit the data to any number of causes of death, for selected chapters, sub-chapters or codes.

    How?   See Step 5. Select cause of infant death above. Check the Hints section.

    Notes:  

    • The International Classification of Disease (ICD) 10th revision is used to represent the underlying cause of death for the years 1999 and later. The ICD system is organized by chapters, sub-chapters and codes.
    • ICD-10 uses a 4-length alphanumeric coding scheme. Each of the 21 chapters in ICD-10 is classified to a letter or letters of the alphabet. Infectious disease codes in Chapter 1, for example, begin with an "A" or "B". Thus, Acute poliomyelitis is associated with the codes A80.0-A80.9 and Viral hepatitis is classified as B15.0-B19.9. The ICD 10 system begins codes with a letter from the alphabet, followed by two numerals, then a decimal point to indicate subordinate position, and then more numerals. Some causes of death in Compressed Mortality are represented by 3 length codes, although most causes of death are represented by 4 length codes (format A12.3). Greater detail than 4 length codes are not included in the data.
    • Data for underlying cause of death, sub-chapter, chapter and the 130 selected causes of death groups are derived from the "UCOD" field in the public use data for years 1999-2005.

    ICD-9 Codes

    Limit the data to any number of causes of death, for selected chapters, sub-chapters or codes.

    How?   See Step 5. Select cause of infant death above.

    Notes:  

    • The International Classification of Disease (ICD) 9th revision is used to represent the underlying cause of death for the years 1979 - 1998. The ICD system is organized by chapters, sub-chapters and codes. For a further description of the ICD-9 codes see Volume II of the annual mortality volumes produced by the NCHS, such as Vital Statistics of the United States, 1988, Volume II-Mortality.
    • About Deaths due to Injuries and Poisoning in ICD-9:
      For deaths due to injuries and poisonings that occurred during 1979-1998, the external cause is coded (E800-E999) rather than the Nature of Injury (800-999). The letter "E" is not included in the ICD-9 code in the data.
    • Data for underlying cause of death, sub-chapter, chapter and the selected causes of death groups are derived from the "UCOD" field in the public use data for years 1995-1998.

    ICD-10 130 Groups

    Limit the data to any number of groups of selected causes of death, or individual codes.

    How?   See Step 5. Select cause of infant death above.

    Notes:  

    • Deaths in the years 1999 and later are coded to the tenth revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10). There are 130 Selected Causes of Infant Death groups for the ICD-10 codes.
    • NCHS has defined selected causes of death groups for analysis of all ages mortality data: the "72 Selected Causes of Death" for ICD-9 codes and years 1979-1998, and the "113 Selected Causes of Infant Death" for ICD-10 codes and years 1999 and later. The group code values are not actual ICD codes published in the International Classification of Diseases, but are "recodes" defined to support analysis by the Selected Causes of Death groups.
    • Data for underlying cause of death, sub-chapter, chapter and the selected causes of death groups are derived from the "UCOD" field in the public use data for years 1999-2005.

    ICD-9 72 Groups

    Limit the data to any number of groups of selected causes of death.

    How?   See Step 5. Select cause of infant death above.

    Notes:  

    • Deaths in the years 1979 - 1998 are coded to the ninth revision of the International Classification of Disease (ICD-9). There are 72 selected causes of death groups for the ICD-9 codes.
    • NCHS has defined selected causes of death groups for analysis of all ages mortality data: the "72 Selected Causes of Death" for ICD-9 codes and years 1979-1998, and the "113 Selected Causes " for ICD-10 codes and years 1999 and later. The group code values are not actual ICD codes published in the International Classification of Diseases, but are "recodes" defined to support analysis by the Selected Causes of Death groups.
    • Data for underlying cause of death, sub-chapter, chapter and the selected causes of death groups are derived from the "UCOD" field in the public use data for years 1995-1998.

    Step 6. Select infant characteristics:

    Limit your data for any of the following data elements:

    1. Age of Infant at Death - under 1 hour; 1-23 hours; 1-6 days; 7-27 days; 28-364 days.
    2. Year of Death - 1995-2002.
    3. Gender (sex) of Child - Female; Male.

    How? See How do I select items from the list box?

    Age of Infant at Death

    Pick any combination of age groups.
    How?    See How do I select items from the list box?.

    Notes:   

    • Data indicating the age of infant at death are derived from the " AGER5" field in the public use data for years 1995-2005.
    • When the data results are exported to a file, the Age group code is shown in a separate column from the category label.

       Code Label
       "01"  Under 1 hour 
       "02"  1 - 23 hours 
       "03"  1 - 6 days 
       "04"  7 - 27 days 
       "05"  28 - 364 days 

    Year of Death

    Pick any combination of years desired. Note that there are three separate data requests, one for the years 1995-1998 with ICD-9 codes, another for the years 1999-2002 with ICD-10 codes and a third for years 2003-2005 with ICD-10 codes, more counties, and bridged-race categories.
    How?    See How do I select items from the list box?.

    Note:   Data indicating the year of the infant's death are implicit in the public use data for years 1995-2005. The year of death may be recorded in the last field of the public use data.


    Gender of Child

    This field indicates the gender of the child at birth.

    How?     See How do I select items from the list box?.

    Notes:   

    • Data indicating the gender of the child at birth are derived from the "CSEX" field in the public use data for years 1995- 2002, and derived from the "SEX" field in the public use data for years 1999-2005.
    • When the data results are exported to a file, the Gender code is shown in a separate column from the category label.

       Code Label
       "F"  Female 
       "M"  Male 



    Step 7. Other options:
    Export Results   If checked, then query results are exported to a local file. More information on how to import this file into other applications can be found here.
    How?   See Checkbox.
    Show Totals   If checked, then totals and sub-totals display in the results table.
    How?   See CheckBox.
    Show Zero Values   If checked, then rows containing zero counts display in the results table. If unchecked, then zero count rows are suppressed.
    How?   See Checkbox.
    Precision   Select the precision for rate calculations. You may increase the precision to show more numbers to the right of the decimal point.
    How? See How do I select items from the list box?
    Data Access Timeout   This value specifies the maximum time to wait for the data access for a query to complete. If the data access takes too long to complete, a message will be displayed and you can increase the timeout or simplify your request. If you can't complete a request using the maximum timeout, contact user support and we will try to run a custom data request for you.
    Calculate Rates Per   Select the factor (multiplier) for your rates. By default, infant death rates are calculated per 1,000 live births.
    How? See How do I select items from the list box?

    Data Source Information

    To learn more about the methods and source of these data please refer to:

    Publications:
  • Other Issues


    • Weight Factors: Changes Beginning with the 1995 Data Year

    Beginning in 1995 data, linked file records are weighted to compensate for the 2 to 3 percent of infant death records which could not be linked to their corresponding birth certificates. Although every effort has been made to design weights which will accurately reflect the distribution of deaths by characteristics, weighting may contribute to small differences in numbers and rates by specific variables between the linked file and the vital statistics mortality files.

    A weight has been added to the linked numerator file to correct in part for biases in percent of records linked by major characteristics. The number of infant deaths in the linked file are weighted to equal the sum of the linked plus unlinked infant deaths by age at death and state. The formula for computing the weights is as follows:

    (number of linked infant deaths + number of unlinked infant deaths)
    number of linked infant deaths

    A separate weight is computed for each state of residence of birth and each age at death category. Thus, weights are 1.0 for states which link all of their infant deaths. The denominator file is not weighted. Note that for years 1983-2001, these age at death groups are used to construct weights: <1 day, 1 to 27 days, 28 days to 1 year. For year 2002 and later, the age at death cohorts for constructing weights changed as follows: <7 days, 7-27 days, 28 days to 1 year.

    An imputation for not-stated birthweight has been added to the data set, to reduce potential bias in the computation of birthweight-specific infant mortality rates. Basically, if birthweight is not-stated and the period of gestation is known, birthweight is assigned the value from the previous record with the same period of gestation, race, sex, and plurality. Imputed values are flagged.

    For more detail, and to see the percentage of records linked for each year of data, please see the methodology sections in the publications listed at Data Source Information.


    Locations - About FIPS State and County Codes

    The FIPS state and county codes were established by the National Bureau of Standards, U.S. Department of Commerce in 1968. This standard set of codes provides names and codes for counties and county equivalents of the 50 states of the United States and the District of Columbia. Counties are considered to be the "first order subdivisions " of each State, regardless of their local designation (county, parish, borough). Washington, D.C.; the consolidated government of Columbus, Georgia; the independent cities of the States of Maryland, Missouri, Nevada, and Virginia; the census areas and boroughs of Alaska; and that part of Yellowstone Park in Montana are identified as county equivalents. The system is standard throughout the Federal Government. The State codes are ascending, two-digit numbers; the county codes are ascending three-digit numbers. For both the State and county codes, space has been left for new States or counties. Some changes in the FIPS codes have occurred since 1968.

    A modified version of the FIPS state and county codes is used to identify states and counties on NCHS public-use data files. The modifications as implemented in the Linked Birth / Infant Death public-use data are described below.

    Modifications of FIPS State and County Codes

    1. Counties with populations under 250,000 persons are grouped into "Unidentified Counties" (FIPS code 999) to protect privacy.
    2. A portion of Adams county, Colorado (FIPS code 08001) was moved into Broomfield County, Colorado (FIPS code 08014), which was created effective November 15, 2001 from parts of four counties: Adams, Boulder, Jefferson, and Weld.
    3. Dade county, Florida (FIPS code 12025) was renamed Miami-Dade County (FIPS code 12086) effective November 13, 1997. However, the area is coded to Dade (12025) for all years.
    4. Baltimore county, Maryland (FIPS code 24005) is reported separately from the independent city of Baltimore, Maryland (FIPS code 24510).
    5. The independent city of Baltimore, Maryland (FIPS code 24510) is reported separately from Baltimore county (FIPS code 24005).
    6. St. Louis county (FIPS code 29189) is reported separately from the independent city of St. Lois, Missouri (FIPS code 29510).
    7. The independent city of St. Lois, Missouri (FIPS code 29510) is reported separately from St. Louis county (FIPS code 29189).
    8. Bronx, New York (FIPS code 36005) represents Bronx Borough, New York City.
    9. Kings county, New York (FIPS code 36047) represents Brooklyn Borough, New York City.
    10. New York county, New York (FIPS code 36061) represents Manhattan Borough, New York City.
    11. Queens, New York (FIPS code 36081) represents Queens Borough, New York City.
    12. Richmond county, New York (FIPS code 36085) represents Staten Island Borough, New York City.

    Additional Information

    Suggested Citation United States Department of Health and Human Services (US DHHS),
    Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),
    National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS),
    Division of Vital Statistics (DVS),
    Linked Birth / Infant Death Records,
    on CDC WONDER On-line Database.
    Contact The National Center for Heath Statistics welcomes comments and questions at nchsQuery@cdc.gov.
    Notes:
    • About "Unidentified County:"
      The label "Unidentified County" indicates counties with less than 250,000 population. When viewing data sorted "by County," please note that not all counties in a given state show births that were registered in that county. The state total displays all linked births and deaths for a given state (by mother's residence). Some counties are not associated with tabulated births due to confidentiality concerns. Counties with a total population less than 250,000 report births under "Unidentified County" to protect personal privacy.
    • About Births to Foreign Residents:
      Births occurring within the United States to a mother who is a resident of a foreign country are excluded from this data set. The Linked Birth / Infant Death data set defines "Foreign Residents: State of occurrence is one of the 50 States or the District of Columbia, but place of residence of mother is outside of the 50 States and D.C. "
    • About Weight Factors and Totals
      Infant deaths are weighted so numbers may not exactly add to totals due to rounding. A record weight is added to the linked file to compensate for the infant death records that could not be linked to their corresponding birth certificates. This procedure was initiated in 1995. For more information, see:
      Weight Factors
    • About excluded maternal education and prenatal care data for years 2003-2005:
      Maternal education and prenatal care data are recoded to "Excluded" for those states that have implemented the 2003 revision of the U.S. Standard Certificate of Birth, because their data for maternal education and prenatal care are not comparable to the data from the other states that still use the 1989 revision of the U.S. Standard Certificate of Birth. The following states have maternal education and prenatal care data excluded:
      • Pennsylvania and Washington state for deaths that occurred in 2003;
      • Florida, Idaho, Kentucky, New Hampshire, New York (excluding New York City), Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee and Washington state (9 states) for deaths that occurred in 2004;
      • Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New York (excluding New York City), Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont and Washington state (13 states) for deaths that occurred in 2005.
    • About suppressed rate values:
      Rates are suppressed when there are fewer than 20 deaths in the numerator, because the figure does not meet the NCHS standard of reliability or precision.
    • Data correction: The June 30, 2009 data release on WONDER included a revision for a single death that occurred in 2001 to a non-Hispanic white male infant in New York state: the underlying cause of death was changed from from V89.2 (Person injured in unspecified motor-vehicle accident, traffic) to J18.1 (Lobar pneumonia, unspecified). Data for the year 2001 was first released on WONDER on October 17, 2006, and was based on the 2001 public use data set dated October 31, 2003. The June 30, 2009 data release on WONDER includes data from the 2001 public use data set dated December 17, 2007. The December 17, 2007 data set for 2001 includes the record revision. The June 30, 2009 data update on WONDER makes weekly gestational age data available on WONDER.


    This page last reviewed: Monday, July 06, 2009
    This information is provided as technical reference material. Please contact us at cwus@cdc.gov to request a simple text version of this document.
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