NEW YORK (AP) – Preliminary governmental statistics indicate that the rate of infant mortality within the United States reached an unprecedented nadir in 2025.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there were marginally fewer than 5.4 infant fatalities recorded for every 1,000 live births during 2025.
While this represents a modest reduction from the approximate rates of 5.5 per 1,000 in 2024 and 5.6 in the two preceding years, researchers assert that this decrease is statistically significant and translates to hundreds of infant lives saved annually.
Identifying the precise catalysts for these recent developments is challenging, but Dr. Michael Warren, chief medical and health officer for the March of Dimes, commented that “this is an encouraging data point, and we hope that this trend will continue.”
Infant mortality is defined as the metric quantifying the number of neonates who perish before reaching their first anniversary.
To facilitate temporal comparisons of infant mortality, researchers employ rates, accounting for annual fluctuations in the number of births within the U.S.
The aggregate figures also demonstrate a downward trajectory.
Provisional data from the CDC suggests that U.S. infant deaths decreased to approximately 19,350 last year, a figure that may be subject to minor upward adjustment pending further analytical review.
The final count is still anticipated to be lower than the approximately 20,050 recorded in 2024 and the roughly 20,160 in 2023, according to the agency’s estimations.
Over the past three decades, the U.S. rate has gradually declined – from 7.5 per 1,000 thirty years ago – attributable to advancements in medical science and public health initiatives.
Nevertheless, the U.S. continues to exhibit a less favorable outcome compared to other developed nations, a disparity experts attribute to socioeconomic factors such as poverty, insufficient prenatal care, and other related challenges.
A comprehensive study published in the preceding year revealed that the U.S. infant mortality rate in 2022—a year that saw an increase—was nearly double that observed in several other affluent democratic countries, including Italy, Japan, Spain, and Sweden.
That period marked the first statistically significant surge in the U.S. rate in approximately two decades. The rebound in Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) and influenza infections was cited by experts as the cause of this increase.
In 2023, U.S. health authorities initiated the endorsement of two novel strategies aimed at mitigating infant mortality: the administration of a laboratory-generated antibody injection to infants for enhanced protection against viral infections, and the provision of an RSV vaccine to expectant mothers between their 32nd and 36th week of gestation.
A representative from the March of Dimes indicated last year that this initiative was likely a contributing factor to the improvements observed in 2024.
Concurrently, a reduction in sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) may be linked to increased public education concerning safe infant sleeping environments, as stated by Warren.
Provisional data for 2025 was disseminated by the CDC in late May. On Tuesday, the agency published a more comprehensive analysis of 2024 infant mortality data, offering insights not yet available for the more recent year. Key findings from that report include:
Mortality rates saw a decrease for both neonatal infants (under 28 days old) and older infants, a trend that the 2025 provisional data suggests continued last year.
In 2024, disparities in infant mortality persisted, often pronounced, based on race. Infants born to Black mothers exhibited mortality rates more than double those of infants born to Hispanic, white, and Asian American women.
Researchers observed a decline in the mortality rate among infants born at full term (39 to 40 weeks of gestation). However, no significant changes were noted for other gestational age categories.
Mississippi recorded the highest infant mortality rate, with 9.65 deaths per 1,000 births, while New Hampshire registered the lowest, at just under 3 per 1,000.
“These disparities are symptomatic of a range of factors encompassing access to healthcare, community influences, and policy frameworks that enhance health and improve outcomes,” Warren commented.
