US Infant Mortality Rate Hits Record Low, Still Trails Peers
The United States infant mortality rate has fallen to its lowest level ever recorded, according to provisional data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The rate dropped to slightly fewer than 5.4 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2025, marking a steady decline from 5.5 per 1,000 in 2024 and 5.6 per 1,000 in the two preceding years.
While the improvement is statistically meaningful — translating to hundreds of fewer infant deaths annually — public health experts caution that the United States continues to lag behind other high-income nations, and deep racial and geographic disparities remain entrenched.
A Decades-Long Decline Continues
The 2025 rate represents a continuation of a long-term trend. Three decades ago, the US infant mortality rate stood at 7.5 per 1,000 live births, meaning the current figure is roughly 28% lower. According to the Associated Press, the total number of infant deaths fell to approximately 19,350 in 2025, down from about 20,050 in 2024 and 20,160 in 2023.
Researchers attribute the decades-long decline to medical advances, improvements in neonatal intensive care, and sustained public health efforts. However, the 2022 rate saw a statistically significant uptick — the first in roughly two decades — which experts linked to a rebound in RSV and flu infections following the relaxation of pandemic-era mitigation measures.
New Interventions Driving Recent Progress
Health officials point to two key interventions introduced in 2023 as likely contributors to the recent improvement. The CDC began recommending nirsevimab (Beyfortus), a monoclonal antibody shot that helps infants’ immune systems fight off respiratory syncytial virus, alongside an RSV vaccine for pregnant women administered between 32 and 36 weeks of gestation.
Dr. Michael Warren, chief medical and health officer for the March of Dimes, called the latest data “an encouraging data point” and expressed hope that the trend would continue. A March of Dimes expert previously noted that the RSV interventions likely contributed to the improvement seen in 2024.
Additionally, a decline in sudden infant death syndrome may be connected to increased education around safe sleeping practices for infants, Warren said in a statement.
Persistent Racial and Geographic Disparities
Despite the record-low national rate, the CDC’s in-depth analysis of 2024 data — released alongside the provisional 2025 figures — reveals stark disparities. Death rates for infants born to Black women were more than twice as high as those for infants of Hispanic, white, and Asian American women.
Geographic inequities are equally pronounced. Mississippi recorded the highest infant mortality rate in the nation at 9.65 deaths per 1,000 births, while New Hampshire had the lowest at just under 3 per 1,000 — a more than threefold difference.
In August 2025, the Mississippi State Department of Health declared a public health emergency in response to soaring infant mortality rates. Cindy Rahman, president and CEO of March of Dimes, described the declaration as “a painful reminder of the maternal and infant health crisis facing our nation,” noting that Black infants in Mississippi experienced a mortality rate of 15.2 per 1,000 — a nearly 24% increase from the previous year.
“These differences are reflective of a variety of reasons related to access to care, community factors, and policies that improve health and outcomes,” Warren said.
The International Gap
The United States continues to underperform relative to peer nations. A JAMA study published in 2025 found that the US infant mortality rate in 2022 was nearly twice as high as in several other high-income democratic nations, including Italy, Japan, Spain, and Sweden.
Experts attribute this persistent gap to a combination of factors: higher rates of poverty and income inequality, inadequate prenatal care — particularly in rural and low-income areas — maternity care deserts that leave families with little or no access to care, and the absence of guaranteed paid parental leave, which the US remains one of the few developed nations without.
What’s Next
The provisional 2025 data may be revised slightly upward as final analysis is completed, but the overall trajectory is clear: infant mortality in the US is at an all-time low. However, the persistence of racial and geographic disparities — and the wide gap between the US and other developed nations — underscores that the record low, while welcome, is not cause for complacency.
Public health advocates are calling for policy interventions including Medicaid expansion, investment in maternity care access, paid family leave, and continued support for targeted medical interventions like RSV prevention measures. As Warren put it, the challenge now is to ensure that progress reaches every community — not just the nation as a whole.