Trends in Infant Mortality in United States: A Brief Study of the Southeastern States from 2005–2009

While overall infant mortality rates have declined over the past several decades, the Southeastern states have remained the leading states in high infant death in the United States. In this study, we studied the differences in infant mortality in the southeastern United States from 2005 through 2009 according to mother’s characteristics (age of mother, marital status, maternal race, maternal education), birth characteristics (month when maternal prenatal care began, birth weight), and infant’s characteristics (age of infant at death). This paper illustrates the significance level of each characteristic of mothers and infants, as well as socioeconomic factors that contribute to significant infant mortality that impacts subgroups within the US population. Descriptive statistics and analysis of variance studies were performed and presented. Statistical analysis of the contribution of causes of infant death to infant mortality at the national and state level was elaborated. Data suggest that mothers with no prenatal care had a very high overall infant death rate (5281.83 and 4262.16 deaths per 100,000 births in Mississippi and Louisiana, respectively, whereas the US average was 3074.82 deaths (p < 0.01)). It is suggested that better education and living quality should be available and improved for the residents in Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi.