We want all mothers and their babies to be healthy. Where people live, work, learn, play, worship, and age affects a wide range of health, functioning, and quality-of-life outcomes. These life conditions can support or hinder positive health outcomes.
One way we measure the well-being of mothers and families is to track rates of infant mortality. Infant mortality is the death of a child within the first year of life. Rates of infant mortality can tell us about the condition of people’s environments.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Vital Statistics data:
- In 2022, 20,577 infants (PDF - 1 MB)—5.6 per 1,000—died before their first birthday. Although the infant mortality rate has generally declined over time, the 2022 rate was 3% higher than 2021—representing the first significant increase in 20 years.
- Of all infant deaths:
- About 2 in 3 occur within the first 4 weeks of life
- About 1 in 3 are directly related to being born too early
- About 1 in 5 are related to birth defects
- About 18 in every 100 deaths are sleep-related Sudden Unexpected Infant Deaths (SUID)
- Non-Hispanic Black and indigenous infants (American Indian/Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander) have the highest rates of death and are about two or more times as likely to die compared to non-Hispanic White infants.
Our approach to infant health
Our programs work at multiple stages across the life course. We partner at the national, state, and local levels. With our committed partners, our programs support public health systems that are coordinated and comprehensive.
Improving access to quality services
- Supporting the development of preventive screenings and guidelines for mothers and babies
- Integrating preventive health education, interventions, and services to make sure:
- Safe infant sleep practices become the norm
- Higher-risk mothers and newborns deliver at hospitals that can provide care
- More mothers are breastfeeding their babies
- Evaluating new technologies for diagnosis and in screening programs
Advancing optimal health for all
- Putting in place various supports that help families, such as:
- Helping parents and caregivers to secure housing
- Applying for the Earned Income Tax Credit
- Connecting with job training and employment assistance
- Investing in places where infant mortality rates are worse than national averages
- Measuring disparities by collecting and examining data on different demographic factors, like race and ethnicity, income, education, and rurality
Strengthening the Maternal and Child Health (MCH) workforce
Investing in training and professional development for home visitors, Healthy Start workers, community health workers, and grantees
Maximizing impact through leadership, partnership, and stewardship
Engaging women, fathers & partners, families, and community members in how programs are developed, implementation, and evaluation
Our investments
We provide grant funding to a variety of programs that work together to make sure all babies are born healthy and reach their first birthday. We understand that a baby's health is tied to the mother's health. We support mothers' health before, during, and after pregnancies.
Our investments encourage coordinated systems of services in order to prevent infant illness, injury, and death and advance optimal health.
- Bright Futures
- Center for Maternal and Child Health Medicaid Partnerships
- Emergency Medical Services for Children
- Healthy Start
- Home Visiting
- National Action Partnership to Promote Safe Sleep-Improvement and Innovations Network (NAPPSS-IIN)
- National Fetal, Infant, and Child Death Review Program
- Newborn Screening and Genetics Programs
- Title V Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Block Grant
Gathering data and tracking progress
We gather program data and national data to track progress. We evaluate the impact of our investments.