The number of U.S. infants who die before their first birthday continues to decline and is at a historic low, health officials reported.
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Between 2012 and 2013, the rate dropped only slightly, from 5.98 deaths per 1,000 births to 5.96. Since 2005, when infant mortality stood at 6.86 per 1,000 births, the rate has fallen by 13 percent, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"Every single time an infant dies in the first year of life it is a tragedy for a family," said report author T.J. Mathews, a demographer at CDC's National Center for Health Statistics.
However, "in 2013, we saw the lowest infant mortality rate ever," he said. "That's good news. There were many years when the rate was steady and wasn't declining, then in 2009 we started to see some declines, and we are continuing to see that. It's not a sharp decline, but it's going in the right direction."
In 2013, 23,446 infants died in the United States, 208 fewer than in 2012, the researchers found.
"Not long ago, we were around 28,000 to 30,000 deaths. There are still a lot of infant deaths, but that there are fewer means there have been positive changes."
For most groups, the infant death rate remained stable. However, death rates among Puerto Ricans and Cuban-Americans dropped significantly - 14 percent for Puerto Rican women and 40 percent for Cuban-American women.
Mathews noted that the disparity in infant deaths between blacks and whites persists. The infant death rate for blacks is double that of whites.
Most infant deaths occur among babies born early with birth defects. Many deaths are also due to preterm delivery.
In 2013, infants born at 37 to 38 weeks of gestation had death rates 63 percent higher than for babies born at full term, according to the report.
For multiple births, the infant death rate was almost 26 per 1,000 births. That's five times the rate among single births. Other causes of infant deaths include sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and accidents.
Also in 2013, 36 percent of infant deaths were due to preterm-related causes, such as short gestation and low birth weight. Another 15 percent were due to sudden, unexpected infant death, including unspecified causes and accidental suffocation and strangulation in bed, the researchers said.
The U.S. still has higher infant mortality rates than other countries such as Sweden and Japan, where the rate is fewer than 3 deaths per 1,000 births. ■