Overview
- The CDC’s provisional National Vital Statistics estimates, published Wednesday, put the 2025 infant mortality rate at about 5.36–5.4 deaths per 1,000 live births.
- Both components of infant mortality fell in the provisional data, with neonatal deaths near 3.55 per 1,000 and postneonatal deaths near 1.81 per 1,000.
- Sudden infant death syndrome was the only major cause to decline noticeably in 2025 while congenital malformations, short gestation/low birthweight, maternal complications and unintentional injury showed no significant change.
- Large gaps persist by race and state: infants of Black women face substantially higher death rates than other groups, and state rates ranged from roughly 2.97 per 1,000 in New Hampshire to about 9.65 in Mississippi.
- Public-health groups warn the 2025 numbers are provisional and say factors such as recent RSV vaccination and expanded safe-sleep education may have helped, but researchers will need final NCHS data and further study to confirm causes and policy implications.