--- description: The latest national data show improvements in infant mortality, including new lows among groups with traditionally high rates title: Infant Deaths Continue to Drop in the U.S. image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4af6c2a92ba30b00/6988bf39cf40a8b092c46e84/gettyimages-540730969.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Health](/section/health/) ## Health Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Public Health](/tag/public-health/) ## Public Health Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Infant Deaths Continue to Drop in the U.S.  by [Alice Park](/author/alice-park/)  ## Alice Park Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Mar 21, 2017 3:24 PM CUT  Stuart Ashley—Getty Images  by [Alice Park](/author/alice-park/)  ## Alice Park Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Mar 21, 2017 3:24 PM CUT Government agencies have released some [good news for newborns](https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db279.htm "undefined"). The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) found in a new analysis that the rate of infant mortality in the U.S. is continuing to decline, after reaching a high in 2005. Since then, rates of infant deaths have dropped by 15%, from 6.86 deaths per 1,000 births to 5.82 in 2014\. These declines were driven by record-low rates among Hispanic, Black and Asian populations. The biggest drops—by about 20%—were seen for the infants of Asian or Pacific Islander and Black mothers. Every racial subgroup, except for American Indian and Alaska Native people, experienced a decline. The infant mortality rate for [sudden infant death syndrome](http://time.com/4542358/aap-sids-infant-death-prevent-guidelines/?iid=sr-link8 "undefined") (SIDS) dropped by 29%. And while birth defects remain the leading cause of infant death, followed by low birth weight, both saw declines from 2005 to 2014\. This encouraging trend suggests that efforts to help women get more prenatal care may be paying off. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4707909/infant-mortality-rate-death-decline/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4707909/infant-mortality-rate-death-decline/"},"headline":"Infant Deaths Continue to Drop in the U.S.","datePublished":"2017-03-21T15:24:55.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T03:57:06.894Z","description":"The latest national data show improvements in infant mortality, including new lows among groups with traditionally high rates","url":"https://time.com/4707909/infant-mortality-rate-death-decline/","keywords":["Public Health","Babies","Reproductive Health","health","infants"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4af6c2a92ba30b00/6988bf39cf40a8b092c46e84/gettyimages-540730969.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alice Park","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/alice-park/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4af6c2a92ba30b00/6988bf39cf40a8b092c46e84/gettyimages-540730969.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Baby boy","caption":"Baby boy","creditText":"Stuart Ashley—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/public-health/","name":"Public Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4707909/infant-mortality-rate-death-decline/","name":"Infant Deaths Continue to Drop in the U.S."}}]}] ```