Infant Mortality and Hispanic Americans

  • Among Hispanic/Latino subgroups, the infant mortality rates in 2022 ranged from 3.9 per 1,000 live births for Cuban Americans to 6.3 per 1,000 live births for Puerto Ricans.1
  • Puerto Ricans had a 40% higher infant mortality rate than non-Hispanic whites in 2022.1
  • Puerto Rican infants were 2 times as likely to die from causes related to maternal complications of pregnancy than non-Hispanic white infants in 2022.2
  • In 2022, Hispanic mothers were 90% more likely to receive late or no prenatal care as non-Hispanic white mothers.3
  • In 2022, Central and South American mothers were 2.7 times more likely to receive late or no prenatal care than non-Hispanic white mothers.3

Infant Mortality Rate

Infant mortality, rate per 1,000 live births, 2022
Maternal race or ethnicityInfant Mortality RatePopulation / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
Non-Hispanic White4.5--
Hispanic4.91.1
Mexican4.81.1
Puerto Rican6.31.4
Cuban3.90.9
Central and South American4.41.0
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 2024. Infant Mortality in the United States, 2022: Data from the Period Linked Birth/Infant Death File. National Vital Statistics Reports, vol. 73, no. 5. Table 2.
Infant mortality by age of mother, rate per 1,000 live births, 2022
Age of MotherHispanicNon-Hispanic WhiteHispanic / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
Under 20 years6.910.50.7
20-24 years5.06.50.8
25-29 years4.44.31.0
30-34 years4.33.71.2
35-39 years5.43.71.5
40-54 years6.85.41.3
Source: CDC 2024. Infant Mortality in the United States, 2022: Data from the Period Linked Birth/Infant Death File. National Vital Statistics Reports, vol. 73, no. 5. Table 2.

Leading Causes of Infant Mortality by Hispanic Ethnicity

Hispanic

Infant mortality rate for the top 5 leading causes of death for Hispanics, rate per 100,000 live births, 2022
Cause of DeathHispanicNon-Hispanic WhiteHispanic / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
(1) Congenital Malformations119.599.61.2
(2) Low-Birthweight69.351.91.3
(3) Maternal complications of pregnancy31.021.71.4
(4) Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)25.732.80.8
(5) Accidents (unintentional injuries)20.133.70.6
Source: CDC, 2024. Infant Mortality in the United States, 2022: Data from the Period Linked Birth/Infant Death File. National Vital Statistics Reports, vol. 73, no. 5. Table 4.

Mexican American

Infant mortality rate for the top 5 leading causes of death for Mexican Americans, rate per 100,000 live births, 2022
Cause of DeathMexican AmericanNon-Hispanic WhiteMexican American / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
(1) Congenital Malformations124.399.61.2
(2) Low-Birthweight68.451.91.3
(3) Maternal complications of pregnancy31.621.71.5
(4) Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)21.632.80.7
(5) Accidents (unintentional injuries)18.833.70.6
Source: CDC, 2024. Infant Mortality in the United States, 2022: Data from the Period Linked Birth/Infant Death File. National Vital Statistics Reports, vol. 73, no. 5. Table 4.

Puerto Rican

Infant mortality rate for the top 5 leading causes of death for Puerto Ricans, rate per 100,000 live births, 2022
Cause of DeathPuerto RicanNon-Hispanic WhitePuerto Rican / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
(1) Low-Birthweight89.551.91.7
(2) Congenital Malformations80.899.60.8
(3) Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)60.632.81.8
(4) Accidents (unintentional injuries)46.233.71.4
(5) Maternal complications of pregnancy43.321.72.0
Source: CDC, 2024. Infant Mortality in the United States, 2022: Data from the Period Linked Birth/Infant Death File. National Vital Statistics Reports, vol. 73, no. 5. Table 4.

Central and South American

Infant mortality rate for the top 5 leading causes of death for Central and South Americans, rate per 100,000 live births, 2022
Cause of Death (By rank)Central and South AmericanNon-Hispanic WhiteCentral and South American / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
(1) Congenital Malformations133.399.61.3
(2) Low-Birthweight63.551.91.2
(3) Maternal complications of pregnancy20.221.70.9
(4) Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)16.832.80.5
(9) Accidents (unintentional injuries)--33.7--
Source: CDC, 2024. Infant Mortality in the United States, 2022: Data from the Period Linked Birth/Infant Death File. National Vital Statistics Reports, vol. 73, no. 5. Table 4.

Medical and Health Characteristics of Births

Mother received late or no prenatal care, percentage, 2022
PopulationPercentPopulation / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
Non-Hispanic White4.7--
Hispanic9.11.9
Mexican8.31.8
Puerto Rican6.41.4
Cuban6.81.4
Central and South American12.82.7
Source: CDC, 2024. Births: Final Data for 2022. National Vital Statistics Reports, vol. 73, no. 2. Tables 13 and 14.
Mother smoked during pregnancy, percentage, 2022
PopulationPercentPopulation / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
Non-Hispanic White5.4--
Hispanic1.00.2
Mexican0.90.2
Puerto Rican3.10.6
Cuban1.10.2
Central and South American0.30.1
Source: CDC, 2024. Births: Final Data for 2022. National Vital Statistics Reports, vol. 73, no. 2. Tables 13 and 14.

1 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 2024. Infant Mortality in the United States, 2022: Data from the Period Linked Birth/Infant Death File. National Vital Statistics Reports, vol. 73, no. 5. Table 2. (back)

2 CDC, 2024. Infant Mortality in the United States, 2022: Data from the Period Linked Birth/Infant Death File. National Vital Statistics Reports, vol. 73, no. 5. Table 4. (back)

3 CDC, 2024. Births: Final Data for 2022. National Vital Statistics Reports, vol. 73, no. 2. Tables 13 and 14. (back)


Last Edited: 10/29/2024