HEALTH & SCIENCE

Infant mortality: Inside the numbers

Quick View. May 28, 2007.

Since 2000, U.S. infant mortality rates have stopped declining and started leveling off.

This change is attributed in part to an increase in preterm and low-birth-weight births. By 2004, 36.1% of all infant deaths in the U.S. were preterm-related, up from 34.5% in 1999. Experts connect the overall phenomena to an increase of multiple births, which in turn are related to more widespread use of assisted reproductive therapies; and to changes in the medical management of pregnancy, such as more frequent preterm cesarean deliveries and preterm induction of labor. Experts urge continued tracking of preterm-related causes of infant death to improve understanding of trends in infant mortality and perinatal health in the U.S.

This information and the accompanying full-text visual aids were drawn from the following source:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Center for Health Statistics, National Vital Statistics System.

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