Infant Mortality and American Indians/Alaska Natives

American Indian/Alaska Natives have 1.6 times the infant mortality rate as non-Hispanic whites.
American Indian/Alaska Native babies are 1.7 times as likely as non-Hispanic white babies to die from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
American Indian/Alaska Native infants are 2.5 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, 2008**
American Indian/Alaska Native	Non-Hispanic White	All Races	American Indian/Alaska Native /Non- Hispanic White Ratio
8.7	5.6	6.7	1.6

Source: CDC 2012. Infant Mortality Statistics from the 2008 Period Linked Birth/Infant Death Data Set. National Vital Statistics Reports. Table 1-2.
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr60/nvsr60_05.pdf [PDF | 498KB]

At a glance – Leading Causes of Infant Mortality:

**Infant deaths and mortality rates for the top 4 leading cause of death for American Indian/Alaska Native, 2008. (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	75	151.4	2,820	124.3	1.2
(2) Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)	45	90.8	1,238	54.6	1.7
(3) Low-Birthweight	44	88.8	1,712	75.5	1.2
(4) Accidents (unintentional injuries)	34	68.6	716	31.6	2.2

Source: CDC 2012. Infant Mortality Statistics from the 2008 Period Linked Birth/Infant Death Data Set. National Vital Statistics Reports. Table 5.
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr60/nvsr60_05.pdf [PDF | 498KB]

At a glance – Prenatal Care:

**Percentage of live births in which mother received prenatal care starting in the 1st trimester, 2008**
American Indian/Alaska Native	Non-Hispanic White	American Indian/Alaska Native/Non-Hispanic White Ratio
55.8	76.1	0.7

Source: CDC 2012. Health United States, 2011. Table 5
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus11.pdf [PDF | 9.8MB]

**Percentage of live births in which mother received prenatal care starting in the 3rd trimester or did not receive prenatal care at all, 2008**
American Indian/Alaska Native	Non-Hispanic White	American Indian/Alaska Native/Non-Hispanic White Ratio
12.4	5.0	2.5

Source: CDC 2012. Health United States, 2011. Table 5
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus11.pdf [PDF | 9.8MB]

At a glance – Characteristics of Mother:

**Percentage of mothers who smoked cigarettes during pregnancy, 2008**
American Indian/Alaska Native	Non-Hispanic White	American Indian/Alaska Native/Non-Hispanic White Ratio
19.6	16.0	1.2

Source: CDC 2012. Health United States, 2011. Table 8
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus11.pdf [PDF | 9.8MB]

Infant mortality rates among mothers 20 years of age and over, less than 12 years education, 2005*
American Indian/Alaska Native	Non-Hispanic White	American Indian/Alaska Native/ Non-Hispanic White Ratio
10.2	9.3	1.1

Source: CDC 2009. 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*
American Indian/Alaska Native	Non-Hispanic White	American Indian/Alaska Native/ Non-Hispanic White Ratio
6.4	4.1	1.6

Source: CDC 2009. 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, 2008**
Age of mother	American Indian/Alaska Native	Non-Hispanic White	American Indian/Alaska Native/Non- Hispanic White Ratio
Under 20 years	10.1	9.0	1.1
20-24 years	8.8	6.7	1.3
25-29 years	8.8	4.9	1.8
30-34 years	5.7	4.3	1.3
35-39 years	--	5.1	--
40-54 years	---	6.7	--

Source: CDC 2012. Infant Mortality Statistics from the 2007 Period Linked Birth/Infant Death Data Set. National Vital Statistics Reports. Table 1.
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr60/nvsr60_05.pdf [PDF | 498KB]

* More recent data is not available from the CDC at this time.

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Content Last Modified: 7/3/2012 2:46:00 PM

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