Commentary: Infant Mortality Among African Americans, Using Life Course Perspective to Encourage Transformation.

Abstract

T HE DEATH of an infant is devastating on the family unit. Infant mortality (IM) is the death of an infant before his or her first birthday. Infant mortality rate (IMR) is the number of babies who die in the first year of life per 1000 live births. Lead-ing causes of death include birth defects, preterm birth, injuries, sudden infant death syndrome, and maternal pregnancy complications. The current IMR for the United States (US) in 2019 was 5.6 deaths per 1000 live births. 1 While the general regression is celebrated, a closer look shows that the benefits are not reaching African Americans to the extent it has for other races. It was reported that African Americans have 2.3 times the IMR as non-Hispanic whites. African American infants are 4 times as likely to die from complications related to low birth weight as compared with non-Hispanic white infants. African Americans have more than twice the sudden infant death syndrome mortality rate as non-Hispanic whites. Also, African American mothers are 2 times more likely than non-Hispanic white mothers to receive late or no prenatal care. 2