Infant mortality statistics from the 1997 period linked birth/infant deat data set.

OBJECTIVES: This report presents 1997 period infant mortality statistics from the linked birth/infant death data set (linked file) by a wide variety of maternal and infant characteristics. METHODS: Descriptive tabulations of data are presented. RESULTS: In general, mortality rates were lowest for infants born to Asian and Pacific Islander mothers (5.0), followed by white (6.0), American Indian (8.7), and black (13.7) mothers. Infant mortality rates were higher for Puerto Rican mothers (7.9) than for Mexican (5.8), Cuban (5.5), Central and South American (5.5), or non-Hispanic white mothers (6.0). Infant mortality rates were higher for those infants whose mothers began prenatal care after the first trimester of pregnancy, were teenagers or 40 years of age or older, did not complete high school, were unmarried, or smoked during pregnancy. Infant mortality was also higher for male infants, multiple births, and infants born preterm or at low birthweight. In 1997, 65 percent of all infant deaths occurred to the 7.5 percent of infants bom at low birthweight. The three leading causes of infant death--Congenital anomalies, Disorders relating to short gestation and unspecified low birthweight (low birthweight), and Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) taken together accounted for nearly one-half of all infant deaths in the United States in 1997. Cause-specific mortality rates varied considerably by race and Hispanic origin. For black mothers, the infant mortality rate for low birthweight was four times that for white mothers. For American Indian mothers, the SIDS rate was 2.4 times that for white mothers. For Hispanic mothers, the SIDS rate was one-third lower than that for non-Hispanic white mothers.