Disparities in infant mortality by maternal race and Hispanic origin, 2017-2018

Disparities in infant mortality by race and Hispanic origin groups continue to persist in the United States. Maternal and infant characteristics known to be associated with infant mortality vary by race and ethnicity. This report describes racial and ethnic disparities in infant mortality in the United States using the 2017-2018 cohort linked birth/infant death files from the National Vital Statistics System. Distributions of births and infant mortality rates are described by selected maternal and infant characteristics. Adjusted rates and rate ratios from logistic regression models, compared to unadjusted rates and ratios, show the extent to which race and Hispanic origin disparities would be attenuated if all groups had the same distributions of select maternal and infant factors. Results support the premise that the different distributions of several variables across racial/ethnic groups, most notably gestational age, account for a significant portion of the disparities in infant mortality between racial/ethnic groups.