U.S. Infant Mortality Rate Reaches Historic Low

New government data shows that the number of babies dying before their first birthday in the United States has reached an all-time low. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the infant mortality rate fell to slightly fewer than 5.4 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2025. While this is only a small decrease from the 5.5 rate recorded in 2024, researchers say the change is meaningful and represents hundreds of lives saved each year.

Infant mortality is a key measure of public health, tracking how many babies die before reaching their first birthday. For decades, the U.S. rate has been slowly decreasing, falling from 7.5 per 1,000 births three decades ago. Dr. Michael Warren, a chief medical officer for the March of Dimes, called the new data an encouraging sign. He noted that the trend is likely supported by medical advances and improved public health efforts. For example, better education about safe sleeping habits for babies has helped reduce deaths from sudden infant death syndrome.

Health officials also pointed to recent efforts to prevent infections. In 2023, the U.S. began recommending two important measures to protect infants from respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), a common virus that can be dangerous for young children. These measures include a lab-made antibody shot for babies and an RSV vaccine—a medical treatment that helps the body fight off a disease—for women in the final weeks of pregnancy. Experts believe these actions helped improve survival rates in 2024 and beyond.

Despite this progress, the U.S. continues to struggle with higher infant death rates than other high-income countries. A study from last year showed that the U.S. rate was nearly twice as high as that of several other nations, including Japan, Italy, Spain, and Sweden. Experts often link these differences to issues such as poverty and limited access to prenatal care, which is the medical care a woman receives during pregnancy.

Detailed reports from the CDC highlight that the situation remains complex. While death rates have dropped for both very young infants—those less than 28 days old—and older infants, the improvements are not equal for everyone. Data from 2024 shows that infant mortality rates differ significantly by race. In that year, babies born to Black women were more than twice as likely to die before their first birthday compared to babies born to white, Hispanic, or Asian American women.

Geography also plays a major role in these health outcomes. According to the CDC, there is a wide gap between different parts of the country. Mississippi reported the highest infant mortality rate in the nation at 9.65 deaths per 1,000 births, while New Hampshire reported the lowest at just under 3 per 1,000. Researchers suggest that these variations are connected to different levels of access to quality medical care and community resources.

Looking ahead, the total number of infant deaths is expected to be lower than in previous years. Provisional data suggests that about 19,350 infants died in 2025, a decrease from the 20,050 deaths recorded in 2024. While the final numbers may change slightly as more analysis is finished, the overall downward trend is clear. As the country moves forward, health experts hope that continued focus on prenatal care and infection prevention will help close the gap between the U.S. and other wealthy nations.