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 ethnicity	Infant Mortality Rate	Population / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
Non-Hispanic White	4.5	--
Hispanic	4.9	1.1
Mexican	4.8	1.1
Puerto Rican	6.3	1.4
Cuban	3.9	0.9
Central and South American	4.4	1.0

Infant mortality by age of mother, rate per 1,000 live births, 2022
Age of Mother	Hispanic	Non-Hispanic White	Hispanic / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
Under 20 years	6.9	10.5	0.7
20-24 years	5.0	6.5	0.8
25-29 years	4.4	4.3	1.0
30-34 years	4.3	3.7	1.2
35-39 years	5.4	3.7	1.5
40-54 years	6.8	5.4	1.3

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 Death	Hispanic	Non-Hispanic White	Hispanic / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
(1) Congenital Malformations	119.5	99.6	1.2
(2) Low-Birthweight	69.3	51.9	1.3
(3) Maternal complications of pregnancy	31.0	21.7	1.4
(4) Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)	25.7	32.8	0.8
(5) Accidents (unintentional injuries)	20.1	33.7	0.6

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 Death	Mexican American	Non-Hispanic White	Mexican American / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
(1) Congenital Malformations	124.3	99.6	1.2
(2) Low-Birthweight	68.4	51.9	1.3
(3) Maternal complications of pregnancy	31.6	21.7	1.5
(4) Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)	21.6	32.8	0.7
(5) Accidents (unintentional injuries)	18.8	33.7	0.6

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 Death	Puerto Rican	Non-Hispanic White	Puerto Rican / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
(1) Low-Birthweight	89.5	51.9	1.7
(2) Congenital Malformations	80.8	99.6	0.8
(3) Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)	60.6	32.8	1.8
(4) Accidents (unintentional injuries)	46.2	33.7	1.4
(5) Maternal complications of pregnancy	43.3	21.7	2.0

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 American	Non-Hispanic White	Central and South American / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
(1) Congenital Malformations	133.3	99.6	1.3
(2) Low-Birthweight	63.5	51.9	1.2
(3) Maternal complications of pregnancy	20.2	21.7	0.9
(4) Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)	16.8	32.8	0.5
(9) Accidents (unintentional injuries)	--	33.7	--

Medical and Health Characteristics of Births

Mother received late or no prenatal care, percentage, 2022
Population	Percent	Population / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
Non-Hispanic White	4.7	--
Hispanic	9.1	1.9
Mexican	8.3	1.8
Puerto Rican	6.4	1.4
Cuban	6.8	1.4
Central and South American	12.8	2.7

Mother smoked during pregnancy, percentage, 2022
Population	Percent	Population / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
Non-Hispanic White	5.4	--
Hispanic	1.0	0.2
Mexican	0.9	0.2
Puerto Rican	3.1	0.6
Cuban	1.1	0.2
Central and South American	0.3	0.1

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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 to top)

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 to top)

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