Series 20

No. 27

Infant Mortality by Hispanic

Origin of Mother: 20 States,

1985–87 Birth Cohorts

October 1995

Vital and

Health Statistics

From the CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION / National Center for Health Statistics

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Public Health Service

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

National Center for Health Statistics
Copyright Information

All material appearing in this report is in the public domain and may be

reproduced or copied without permission; citation as to source, however, is

appreciated.

Suggested Citation

Pastore LM, MacDorman MF. Infant mortality by Hispanic origin of mother, 20

states, 1985–87 birth cohorts. National Center for Health Statistics. Vital Health

Stat 20(27). 1995.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Pastore, Lisa M.

Infant mortality by Hispanic origin of mother, 20 states, 1985–87 birth

cohorts / [by Lisa M. Pastore and Marian F. MacDorman].

p. cm. — (Vital and health statistics. Series 20, Data from the national

vital statistics system ; no. 27) (DHHS publication ; no. (PHS) 95–1855)

‘‘October, 1985.’’

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN 0–8406–0510–2

1. Infants—United States—Mortality—Statistics. 2. Hispanic American

children—Mortality—Statistics. I. MacDorman, Marian F. II. Title. III. Series.

IV. Series: DHHS publication ; no. (PHS) 95–1855.

HB1335.A18 no. 27

[HB1323.I42U6]

304.6’4’0973021 s—dc20 95–25370

[305.23’2’08968073] CIP

For sale by the U.S. Government Printing Office

Superintendent of Documents

Mail Stop: SSOP

Washington, DC 20402-9328
Infant Mortality by Hispanic

Origin of Mother: 20 States,

1985–87 Birth Cohorts

Series 20:

Data From the National Vital Statistics System

No. 27

This report examines the mortality experience of infants born between 1985

and 1987 to mothers of Hispanic origin who resided in a study area of 20

States and the District of Columbia and compares it with that of

non-Hispanic white infants. Infant mortality is analyzed for the 1985–87 birth

cohort by birthweight, mother’s age, prenatal care, and other

characteristics.

Hyattsville, Maryland

October 1995

DHHS Publication No. (PHS) 95-1855

Vital and

Health Statistics

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Public Health Service

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

National Center for Health Statistics
National Center for Health Statistics

Jack R. Anderson, Acting Director

Jennifer H. Madans, Ph.D., Acting Deputy Director

Jacob J. Feldman, Ph.D., Associate Director for Analysis,

Epidemiology, and Health Promotion

Gail F. Fisher, Ph.D., Associate Director for Planning and

Extramural Programs

Peter L. Hurley, Associate Director for Vital and Health

Statistics Systems

(Vacant), Associate Director for International Statistics

Stephen E. Nieberding, Associate Director for

Management

Charles J. Rothwell, Associate Director for Data

Processing and Services

Monroe G. Sirken, Ph.D., Associate Director for Research

and Methodology

Office of Vital and Health Statistics Systems

Peter L. Hurley, Associate Director

Division of Vital Statistics

Mary Anne Freedman, Director

James A. Weed, Ph.D., Deputy Director

Harry M. Rosenberg, Ph.D., Chief, Mortality Statistics

Branch

Joseph D. Farrell, Chief, Systems and Programming Branch

Robert Armstrong, Acting Chief, Statistical Resources

Branch
Contents

Highlights ............................................................................................ 1

Introduction ........................................................................................... 3

General characteristics of the study population ............................................................... 4

Characteristics of the mother .............................................................................. 6

Age . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Marital status ........................................................................................ 7

Education ........................................................................................... 7

Prenatal care......................................................................................... 8

Live birth order ...................................................................................... 9

Place of birth ........................................................................................ 9

Characteristics of the infant and the pregnancy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Birthweight. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Period of gestation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Multiple births . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Age at death . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Sex of infant. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Underlying cause of death. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

List of detailed tables. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Appendix

Technical notes on methods. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Text figures

1. Infant mortality rates by Hispanic origin and race of mother: Total of 20 States and the District of Columbia,

1985–87 birth cohorts............................................................................... 4

2. Infant mortality rates by age of mother and marital status for Hispanic and non-Hispanic white infants:

Total of 20 States and the District of Columbia, 1985–87 birth cohorts ....................................... 7

3. Infant mortality rates by birthweight and period of gestation for Hispanic and non-Hispanic white infants:

Total of 20 States and the District of Columbia, 1985–87 birth cohorts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Text tables

A. Infant mortality rates by marital status, age, and Hispanic origin of mother and by race of mother for mothers of

non-Hispanic origin: Total of 20 States and the District of Columbia, 1985–87 birth cohorts ..................... 4

B. Percent of live births with selected maternal and infant characteristics, by Hispanic origin of mother and

race of mother for mothers of non-Hispanic origin: Total of 20 States and the District of Columbia, 1985–87

birth cohorts ...................................................................................... 6

C. Infant mortality rates by age and educational attainment of mother, by Hispanic origin of mother and

by race of mother for mothers of non-Hispanic origin: Total of 18 States and the District of Columbia, 1985–87

birth cohorts ...................................................................................... 8

iii
D. Infant mortality rates by trimester of pregnancy prenatal care began and Hispanic origin of mother and

by race of mother for mothers of non-Hispanic origin: Total of 20 States and the District of Columbia, 1985–87

birth cohorts ...................................................................................... 9

E. Infant mortality rates by age of mother, live-birth order, and Hispanic origin of mother and by race of mother for

mothers of non-Hispanic origin: Total of 20 States and the District of Columbia, 1985–87 birth cohorts . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

F. Infant mortality rates by place of birth of mother, birthweight, and Hispanic origin of mother and by

race of mother for mothers of non-Hispanic origin: Total of 20 States and the District of Columbia, 1985–87

birth cohorts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

G. Infant mortality rates by plurality of birth, birthweight, and Hispanic origin of mother and by race of mother for

mothers of non-Hispanic origin: Total of 20 States and the District of Columbia, 1985–87 birth cohorts . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

H. Infant mortality rates by period of gestation, birthweight, and Hispanic origin of mother and by race of mother for

mothers of non-Hispanic origin: Total of 20 States and the District of Columbia, 1985–87 birth cohorts . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

J. Infant, neonatal, and postneonatal mortality rates and race ratios by sex, age at death, and Hispanic origin of

mother and by race of mother for mothers of non-Hispanic origin: Total of 20 States and the District of Columbia,

1985–87 birth cohorts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

K. Infant mortality rates and rankings for leading causes of infant death by Hispanic origin of mother and by race

of mother for mothers of non-Hispanic origin: Total of 20 States and the District of Columbia, 1985–87 birth

cohorts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

L. Infant mortality ratios for leading causes of infant death by Hispanic origin of mother and by race of mother

for mothers of non-Hispanic origin: Total of 20 States and the District of Columbia, 1985–87 birth cohorts . . . . . . . . . 17

M. Infant mortality risk ratios for specified groups with selected maternal characteristics, by Hispanic origin of mother

and race of mother for mothers of non-Hispanic origin: Total of 20 States and the District of Columbia, 1985–87

birth cohorts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Symbols

- - - Data not available

. . . Category not applicable

− Quantity zero

0.0 Quantity more than zero but

less than 0.05

* Figure does not meet standard

of reliability or precision

(estimate is based on fewer than

20 births or deaths in numerator or

denominator)

iv
Infant Mortality by Hispanic

Origin of Mother: 20 States,

1985–87 Birth Cohorts

Lisa M. Pastore, MSPH, and Marian F. MacDorman,

Ph.D., Division of Vital Statistics

Highlights

This report examines the mortality experience of infants

born between 1985 and 1987 to mothers of Hispanic origin

who resided in a study area of 20 States and the District of

Columbia and compares it with that of non-Hispanic white

infants. Maternal characteristics are also compared. For all

Hispanic-origin mothers combined, the infant mortality rate

(8.5) was very close to the non-Hispanic white rate (8.3).

Among the Hispanic-origin subgroups, the rate for Puerto

Rican mothers was higher (10.9) and the rate for Central and

South American mothers lower (7.8) than the non-Hispanic

white rate. The infant mortality rates of 8.2 for Mexicans and

7.6 for Cubans were not significantly different from the

non-Hispanic white rate.

The infant mortality experience of the Hispanic-origin

population has been termed an ‘‘epidemiological paradox,’’

because of their generally favorable birth outcomes despite a

higher prevalence of socioeconomic and demographic risk

factors. In general, a higher proportion of Hispanic than

non-Hispanic white infants were born to mothers traditionally

considered to be at elevated risk for infant mortality—

teenagers, unmarried mothers, those who have not completed

high school, and those beginning prenatal care after the first

trimester or not at all. In general, infant mortality rates were

higher for these high-risk groups among Hispanic as well as

non-Hispanic white mothers. However, the difference in infant

mortality rates between high-risk and low-risk groups for each

of these maternal characteristics was less for some Hispanicorigin subgroups than for non-Hispanic whites.

The percent of infants born at low birthweight was lower

for Hispanic mothers born outside the 50 States and the

District of Columbia (5.5) than for those born in the 50 States

and the District of Columbia (7.0). Infant mortality rates were

significantly lower for Mexican and Cuban mothers born

outside the 50 States and the District of Columbia than for

those born inside the 50 States and the District of Columbia.

Low birthweight (a weight at birth of less than 2,500

grams) is an important risk factor for infant mortality. Among

Hispanics in the study population, 58 percent of all infant

deaths occurred to the 6.1 percent of births that were of low

birthweight. The birthweight distributions of Mexican, Cuban,

and Central and South American infants were similar to those

for non-Hispanic white infants. In contrast, the percent low

birthweight was about 50 percent higher for infants of Puerto

Rican mothers.

For very low-birthweight babies (less than 1,500 grams),

Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, and Central and South Americans

had mortality rates that were lower than the non-Hispanic

white rate. For moderately low-birthweight infants (1,500–

2,499 grams), all of the specified Hispanic groups except

Mexicans had mortality rates that were lower than the nonHispanic white rate. Among normal birthweight infants, Puerto

Ricans had the highest mortality rate, which was significantly

higher than the non-Hispanic white rate. Infant mortality rates

for normal birthweight infants for Mexicans, Cubans, and

Central and South Americans were not significantly different

from those for non-Hispanic white infants.

A higher percentage of Hispanic (10.9) than non-Hispanic

white (8.0) infants were born preterm (less than 37 completed

weeks of gestation). Among preterm births, the specified

Hispanic-origin subgroups all had infant mortality rates that

were lower than or similar to the non-Hispanic white rates.

Among full-term infants (37–41 weeks gestation), the Puerto

Rican infant mortality rate (5.3) was higher and the Cuban rate

(3.1) lower than the non-Hispanic white rate of 3.9.

The higher mortality rate for Puerto Rican infants was due

in part to a higher rate of early neonatal deaths (those under 7

days of age): 6.3 versus 4.3 for non-Hispanic white infants,

although their postneonatal mortality rate was also somewhat

elevated. The higher early neonatal mortality rate for Puerto

Rican infants reflects in part the higher percentage of Puerto

Rican infants born at low birthweight.

The four leading causes of death were the same in all race

and Hispanic-origin groups studied, with some variation in the

ranking of the four causes. Congenital anomalies was the

leading cause of death for all specific Hispanic-origin groups

and for non-Hispanic whites. Sudden infant death syndrome

was the second leading cause of death for non-Hispanic white

infants and ranked either third or fourth for the specific

Hispanic-origin groups. Respiratory distress syndrome, the

third leading cause of death for non-Hispanic white infants,

ranked second for Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, and Central and

NOTES: This report was prepared in the Division of Vital Statistics. Betty

L. Smith provided content review. Wilma Latta of the Technical Services

Branch provided consultation to State vital statistics offices regarding collection of the linked birth and infant death data on which this report is based. The

linked birth and infant death data system was designed and programmed by

David P. Johnson of the Systems and Programming Branch. This report was

edited by Gail V. Johnson and typeset by Zung Le of the Publications Branch,

Division of Data Services.

1
South Americans. The remaining cause of death among the top

four for all race and ethnic groups was Disorders relating to

short gestation and unspecified low birthweight. Taken together,

these four causes of death accounted for slightly more than

one-half of all infant deaths to Hispanic-origin and to nonHispanic white mothers.

In general, infant mortality rates from Congenital anomalies were roughly comparable between Hispanic and nonHispanic white infants. Rates from Respiratory distress

syndrome and Disorders relating to short gestation and unspecified low birthweight were higher for Puerto Rican infants than

for non-Hispanic white infants. The most notable finding in

the cause-of-death analysis is the 29 percent lower infant

mortality rate for sudden infant death syndrome for Hispanic

than for non-Hispanic white infants.

2
Introduction

Infant mortality is an important indicator of the health

status of a nation because it is associated with a variety of

factors such as maternal health, quality and access to medical

care, socioeconomic conditions, and public health practices

(1–4). Infant mortality in the United States has declined

substantially in recent years. The 1993 provisional infant

mortality rate of 8.3 is less than one-third the rate of 26.0 in

1960 (5–6). However, the rate of decline in infant mortality

has slowed since 1980 and has not kept pace with that of some

other countries. Consequently, the international ranking of the

U.S. infant mortality rate has slipped from 12th lowest in 1960

(7) to 24th lowest in 1990 (8).

The health of minorities and the health of infants have

been identified as priority issues by the Public Health Service

through the Healthy People 2000 objectives (9). Racial and

ethnic differences in various pregnancy outcomes and maternal characteristics have been documented. The Healthy People

2000 objectives for infant mortality (objective 14.1) consistently target a larger percentage decline in black and Puerto

Rican infant mortality rates in order to reduce the mortality for

these groups to levels closer to the U.S. average. Objectives

for the year 2000 include reducing the infant mortality rate to

7 deaths per 1,000 live births nationwide (from a 1987

baseline of 10.1) and to 8 for Puerto Rican infants (12.9

baseline).

Earlier research on Hispanic infant mortality generally

focused on one or two States and/or one specific Hispanicorigin subgroup (10–15). Since the introduction in 1988 of the

first national linked birth-infant death data set for the 1983

birth cohort, researchers have been able to construct studies

that are more comprehensive geographically, better able to

distinguish patterns for specific Hispanic-origin subgroups,

and able to analyze a wider array of variables relevant to

infant mortality (16–18).

This report examines the mortality experience of infants

born to mothers of Hispanic origin in the 1985–87 birth

cohorts and compares their experience to that of infants born

to non-Hispanic white mothers. Race and Hispanic-origin are

defined by the characteristics of the mother. Therefore, when

infants of a specific race or Hispanic origin are mentioned, this

should be understood to mean infants of mothers of the

specific race or Hispanic-origin group. Selected maternal and

infant characteristics from birth and death certificates are

analyzed for their impact on infant mortality rates. The cohort

consists of all infants born in 1985, 1986, and 1987 to mothers

who resided in a reporting area of 20 States and the District of

Columbia, which reported Hispanic-origin information on the

birth certificate, and for which the Hispanic-origin item was at

least 90 percent complete on a place-of-occurrence basis. The

data source for this study is the National Center for Health

Statistics (NCHS) linked birth-infant death data set, which

links the information from the birth certificate to the information from the death certificate for each infant who dies in the

United States. (For a more detailed description of the data set

and the study design, see the Technical notes.)

3
General characteristics of

the study population

The total number of live births in the 20 States plus the

District of Columbia used in this report during 1985–87 was

6,627,611 (table 1). This represents 59 percent of the total

births to U.S. residents during this time period. About 17 percent of these births were to Hispanic mothers. In 1980, these

20 States and the District of Columbia included 86 percent of

the total Hispanic-origin population of the United States,

including 90 percent of the Mexican population, 82 percent of

the Puerto Rican population, and 92 percent of the Cuban

population (19). About 52 percent of the total non-Hispanic

white population and 56 percent of the non-Hispanic black

population were represented (19). Although only a little more

than half of the non-Hispanic white population was represented in the study area, States from every geographic region

of the United States were included and the population was

generally representative of the non-Hispanic white population

of the United States. Data are shown for the black population

for the purpose of completeness and for the convenience of the

reader, but are not discussed in the text. Mortality patterns for

black infants are quite different than those for the other groups

studied and are analyzed in more detail in other reports

(5,8,20).

The total number of deaths of infants under 1 year of age

was 65,847, of which 15 percent were of Hispanic origin. The

Table A. Infant mortality rates by marital status, age, and Hispanic origin of mother and by race of mother for mothers of non-Hispanic

origin: Total of 20 States and the District of Columbia, 1985–87 birth cohorts

[Rates are per 1,000 live births in specified group.]

Marital status and

age of mother

All

origins1

Origin of mother

Hispanic Non-Hispanic

Total Mexican

Puerto

Rican Cuban

Central

and South

American

Other and

unknown

Hispanic Total2 White Black

All ages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.9 8.5 8.2 10.9 7.6 7.8 9.0 10.1 8.3 17.9

Under 15 years ...................... 21.9 16.9 16.1 * * * * 23.3 19.8 25.2

15–19 years ........................ 14.2 10.5 9.9 13.1 11.7 10.3 11.3 15.2 13.2 18.6

20–24 years ........................ 10.6 8.3 7.8 10.5 9.1 7.8 9.5 11.0 9.1 17.7

25–29 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.5 7.4 7.3 9.8 5.8 7.0 7.3 8.6 7.2 17.1

30–34 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.4 8.0 8.0 9.5 7.0 7.4 8.2 8.3 6.9 17.8

35–39 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.5 9.4 9.1 13.2 * 8.9 9.5 9.4 8.0 18.2

40–44 years ........................ 12.6 12.6 13.7 * * * * 12.6 10.9 20.3

45–49 years ........................ 19.9 * * * * * * 19.9 * *

Married . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.1 7.6 7.6 8.6 6.7 7.1 7.8 8.1 7.5 14.8

Under 15 years ...................... 18.4 * * * * * * * * *

15–19 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.8 9.1 8.9 10.3 * 10.2 10.1 12.6 12.0 18.6

20–24 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.7 7.5 7.4 8.6 7.6 7.3 8.2 8.9 8.2 14.9

25–29 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.3 6.7 6.8 7.5 5.4 6.2 7.0 7.3 6.7 13.7

30–34 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.4 7.5 7.7 8.3 6.8 6.7 7.3 7.3 6.6 14.7

35–39 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.7 8.6 8.5 11.3 * 9.7 6.7 8.6 7.8 16.5

40–44 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.7 11.3 12.4 * * * * 11.7 10.5 18.6

45–49 years ........................ 18.6 * * * * * * 18.0 * *

Unmarried ........................... 15.6 10.5 9.9 13.1 12.6 9.0 11.7 16.8 13.7 19.7

Under 15 years ...................... 22.2 16.7 16.1 * * * * 23.5 20.5 25.0

15–19 years ........................ 15.8 11.6 11.0 14.0 * 10.4 11.9 16.7 14.5 18.7

20–24 years ........................ 15.1 9.8 8.8 12.1 16.2 8.5 12.0 16.4 13.5 19.1

25–29 years ........................ 15.6 9.7 9.2 13.1 8.3 8.8 8.5 17.2 13.4 20.7

30–34 years ........................ 15.7 9.9 9.5 11.4 * 9.3 12.2 17.3 12.5 22.2

35–39 years ........................ 15.2 12.3 11.6 16.3 * 7.1 21.0 15.6 11.4 21.0

40–44 years ........................ 17.5 17.2 19.0 * * * * 17.8 13.9 23.3

45–49 years ........................ * * * * * * * * * *

1Origin of mother not stated included in ‘‘all origins’’ but not distributed among origin categories.

2Includes races other than white and black.

4
infant mortality rate was 8.5 for Hispanic-origin infants,

slightly higher than the rate of 8.3 for non-Hispanic white

infants. The mortality rate for Puerto Rican infants (10.9)

was higher and the rate for Central and South American

infants (7.8) was lower than for non-Hispanic white infants

(table A and figure 1). Rates for Mexican (8.2) and Cuban

(7.6) infants were slightly lower than the rate for nonHispanic white infants, although the differences were not

statistically significant.

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

Infant mortality rate

Mexican Puerto

Rican

Cuban Central

and South

American

Non 

Hispanic

white

8.2

10.9

7.8 7.8

8.3

Figure 1. Infant mortality rates by Hispanic origin and race of

mother: Total of 20 States and the District of Columbia, 1985–87

birth cohorts

5
Characteristics of the

mother

Age

The percentage of infants born to teenage mothers was

16.3 percent for the Hispanic population overall compared

with 9.4 percent for infants of non-Hispanic white mothers

(tables B and 2). This percentage varied substantially between

specific Hispanic-origin groups: 6.5 percent for Cubans, 8.1 percent for Central and South Americans, 17.4 percent for Mexicans, and 20.6 percent for Puerto Ricans. The percentage of

births to mothers 40 years of age and over was 1.2 percent for

all Hispanics combined compared with 0.8 percent for infants

of non-Hispanic white mothers. These findings were not

appreciably affected by whether the mother was born inside or

outside the 50 States and the District of Columbia (table 3).

There was a curvilinear relationship between infant mortality rates and maternal age for each of the race and HispanicTable B. Percent of live births with selected maternal and infant characteristics, by Hispanic origin of mother and race of mother for

mothers of non-Hispanic origin: Total of 20 States and the District of Columbia, 1985–87 birth cohorts

Characteristic

All

origins1

Origin of mother

Hispanic Non-Hispanic

Total Mexican

Puerto

Rican Cuban

Central

and South

American

Other and

unknown

Hispanic Total2 White Black

Maternal age:

Under 20 years 12.5 16.3 17.4 20.6 6.5 8.1 17.4 11.8 9.4 23.1

Over 39 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.9 1.2 1.2 1.0 1.2 1.5 0.8 0.9 0.8 0.7

Unmarried ........................... 24.2 31.3 27.6 52.2 15.7 36.8 32.5 22.8 13.4 63.1

Maternal educational attainment:

0–11 years ......................... 20.9 44.1 58.8 45.2 19.5 35.6 34.6 18.9 15.1 32.8

12 years .......................... 41.4 35.2 28.0 36.2 36.5 40.9 40.5 42.0 42.1 42.5

13–15 years ........................ 20.8 14.1 10.0 13.5 27.8 15.1 15.8 21.5 22.5 17.9

16 years or more ..................... 16.9 6.5 3.2 5.0 16.3 8.4 9.0 17.7 20.2 6.8

Trimester of pregnancy prenatal care began:

First trimester ....................... 74.5 61.0 59.7 57.7 82.6 59.4 68.7 77.3 81.8 60.0

Second trimester ..................... 18.7 26.3 27.3 25.7 13.4 27.3 23.5 17.1 14.2 28.6

Third trimester . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.4 7.7 8.3 7.3 2.5 7.5 5.6 3.8 2.9 6.9

No prenatal care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.3 5.0 4.8 9.3 1.5 5.8 2.2 1.8 1.1 4.6

Live-birth order:

1 or 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73.8 66.1 62.8 71.2 80.4 71.3 71.9 75.3 77.2 68.6

5 or more . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.2 7.2 8.7 4.8 1.8 4.4 4.3 3.6 2.7 6.3

Place of birth of mother:

Mother born in the 50 States and

the District of Columbia ................ 82.6 43.3 44.8 51.6 12.7 2.5 81.7 90.8 95.1 91.4

Mother born outside the 50 States and the

District of Columbia .................. 17.2 56.6 55.1 48.2 87.3 97.5 18.0 9.1 4.8 8.3

Birthweight:

Less than 1,500 grams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.2 1.0 1.0 1.5 1.1 1.0 1.1 1.2 0.9 2.7

1,500–2,499 grams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.6 5.1 4.8 7.6 4.7 4.7 5.5 5.7 4.7 10.2

2,500 grams or more .................. 93.1 93.9 94.3 90.9 94.3 94.3 93.4 93.0 94.4 87.1

Period of gestation:

Under 28 weeks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.8 0.7 0.6 0.9 0.6 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.5 1.9

28–36 weeks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.4 10.2 10.2 11.7 8.5 9.6 10.0 9.2 7.5 16.2

37–41 weeks ....................... 76.3 75.8 75.5 75.3 78.6 77.6 75.5 76.4 77.7 70.3

42 weeks and over .................... 13.5 13.3 13.6 12.2 12.3 12.2 13.8 13.6 14.2 11.6

Multiple births . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.1 1.8 1.8 2.0 2.1 1.7 1.8 2.2 2.2 2.5

1Origin of mother not stated included in ‘‘all origins’’ but not distributed among origin categories.

2Includes races other than white and black.

6
origin groups studied. The lowest infant mortality rates generally occurred in the 25–29 year age group with higher rates for

younger and older mothers (table A). However, beyond this

general observation, there were substantial differences in the

pattern of infant mortality by age for Hispanic infants compared with non-Hispanic white infants. For mothers 15–24

years of age, infant mortality rates were lower for Hispanicorigin mothers as a whole than for non-Hispanic white mothers, whereas for mothers 30–39 years of age, the reverse was

true (table A).

When comparing infant mortality rates for teenage mothers to those for the 25–29-year-old age group, the ratio of the

infant mortality rates was 2.0 for Cuban mothers and 1.9 for

non-Hispanic white mothers. Ratios were much lower for

Central and South American (1.5), Mexican (1.4), Puerto

Rican (1.4), and non-Hispanic black (1.1) mothers. This seems

to suggest that teenage childbearing is not as great a relative

risk factor for infant mortality for these latter groups as it is

for non-Hispanic white and Cuban mothers.

Marital status

Of non-Hispanic white mothers, 13 percent were unmarried versus 31 percent of Hispanic mothers. Within the specified Hispanic groups, the percentage of unmarried mothers

ranged from 16 percent for Cuban mothers up to 52 percent

for Puerto Rican mothers (table B).

For all race and Hispanic-origin groups, the infant mortality rate was significantly lower among married mothers than

unmarried mothers (table A and figure 2). The ratio of infant

mortality rates for unmarried versus married mothers was 1.9

for Cuban mothers and 1.8 for non-Hispanic white mothers.

Ratios were much lower for Puerto Rican (1.5), Mexican

(1.3), Central and South American (1.3), and non-Hispanic

black (1.3) mothers. For these groups the relative disadvantage of being unmarried, at least as regard to infant

mortality, seems to be less than for the non-Hispanic white

and Cuban groups.

At younger ages, Hispanic mothers experience lower

infant mortality rates than non-Hispanic white mothers, while

the reverse is true at older ages (figure 2). Interestingly, the

‘‘crossover’’ point is different by marital status. For married

mothers, the crossover point occurs in the 25–29-year-old age

group, while the crossover point for unmarried women occurs

closer to age 35.

Education

California and Texas do not report the educational attainment of the mother, therefore, this part of the report is

restricted to 18 States and the District of Columbia. The

exclusion of data for these two large border States from the

18-State reporting area reduces the coverage of the total U.S.

Hispanic-origin population to 17 percent for the Mexican,

77 percent for the Puerto Rican, and 83 percent for the Cuban

populations (19). While the data, particularly for Mexicans,

apply only to a fraction of the total U.S. Hispanic-origin

population, the relationships shown in the data are sufficiently

plausible for the type of general analysis shown in this report.

More complete data on the educational attainment of the

Hispanic origin population will be available beginning with

the linked file for the 1989 birth cohort.

The percentage of Hispanic mothers with less than a high

school education varied from 20 percent (Cubans) to 59 percent (Mexicans) compared with 15 percent for non-Hispanic

white mothers (tables B and 4). Among the specified Hispanic

groups, only the Cubans came close to the non-Hispanic white

percentage of mothers who completed 4 years of college

(16 percent and 20 percent, respectively). Within the other

specified Hispanic groups, between 3 percent and 9 percent of

mothers had completed at least 4 years of college.

With few exceptions, infant mortality rates declined as

maternal educational attainment increased in all specific

Hispanic-origin groups and among non-Hispanic whites

(table C). However, the relative disadvantage of not completing high school was much less for some Hispanic-origin

subgroups than for the non-Hispanic white group. For the

non-Hispanic white group the infant mortality rate for

mothers who did not complete high school was 1.6 times

the rate for those with 12 years of education. However, for

Mexican, Puerto Rican, and Central and South American

mothers the rates for those who did not complete high

school were 1.2 times the rates for those with 12 years of

education. These relationships persist when examined by

age of mother (table C).

For every race and ethnic group studied, infant mortality

rates were lower for women who attended college than for

those who completed high school. For Hispanic mothers as a

whole, the infant mortality rate for those who completed high

school was 8.6 compared with 7.7 for those with some college

education and 5.4 for college graduates.

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

Rate

Under

15

15 

19

20 

24

25 

29

30 

34

35 

39

40 

44

Age of mother

Hispanic,

unmarried

Non Hispanic

white, unmarried

Non Hispanic

white, married

Hispanic,

married

Figure 2. Infant mortality rates by age of mother and marital

status for Hispanic and non-Hispanic white infants: Total of 20

States and the District of Columbia, 1985–87 birth cohorts

7
Prenatal care

The distribution of mothers by trimester of pregnancy

prenatal care began varied by race and ethnicity (tables B and

5). Only Cuban mothers began care in the first trimester at

about the same level as non-Hispanic white mothers (82.6 percent and 81.8 percent, respectively). All the other specified

Hispanic groups were about 20 percentage points less likely to

initiate prenatal care in the first trimester.

While the percent of mothers who did not receive any

prenatal care was low overall (2.3 percent), this also varied

considerably by ethnicity. Cuban mothers (1.5 percent) were

close to the non-Hispanic white level of 1.1 percent, followed

by Mexican (4.8 percent) and Central and South American

mothers (5.8 percent). A higher percentage (9.3) of Puerto

Rican mothers received no prenatal care during pregnancy.

Infant mortality rates for mothers initiating prenatal care

in the first versus the second versus the third trimester of

pregnancy did not follow the expected direct relationship

(table D). For the Hispanic-origin population as a whole,

mothers who started prenatal care in the third trimester had a

lower infant mortality rate (6.1) than those who sought care

earlier (7.6–7.8). For the non-Hispanic white population,

mothers who sought care in the first trimester had the lowest

rate (7.3), followed by the third trimester (8.9) and then the

second trimester (9.7). These results are explained by the fact

that women who began prenatal care in the third trimester had

to have a period of gestation of at least 7 months, thereby

Table C. Infant mortality rates by age and educational attainment of mother, by Hispanic origin of mother and by race of mother for

mothers of non-Hispanic origin: Total of 18 States and the District of Columbia, 1985–87 birth cohorts

[Rates per 1,000 live births in specified group.]

Age and educational attainment

of mother

All

origins1

Origin of mother

Hispanic Non-Hispanic

Total Mexican

Puerto

Rican Cuban

Central

and South

American

Other and

unknown

Hispanic Total2 White Black

Mothers of all ages3 .................... 10.5 9.6 9.5 11.0 7.6 8.4 9.6 10.4 8.4 18.5

0–11 years .......................... 15.0 10.9 10.2 12.4 11.3 9.4 11.4 15.9 13.3 20.8

0–8 years ......................... 13.9 10.4 10.2 11.6 12.7 9.6 11.7 16.2 14.1 21.5

9–11 years ......................... 15.2 11.2 10.3 12.7 10.6 9.1 11.3 15.8 13.2 20.7

12 years ............................ 10.2 8.6 8.4 10.3 7.0 7.8 7.8 10.2 8.3 17.7

13 years and over . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.5 6.9 6.9 7.0 6.2 7.3 7.2 7.4 6.3 14.9

13–15 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.2 7.7 7.3 7.8 7.2 7.7 8.2 8.1 6.6 15.3

16 years and over . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.6 5.4 * 4.6 4.5 6.6 5.6 6.6 6.0 13.6

Mothers under 20 years of age3 ............. 15.6 12.6 11.9 13.4 12.7 11.3 12.6 15.9 13.6 19.4

0–11 years .......................... 16.7 12.8 12.3 13.5 18.2 10.7 12.3 17.3 15.3 20.1

0–8 years ......................... 18.5 13.8 11.9 15.1 * * * 20.0 17.7 23.2

9–11 years ......................... 16.4 12.5 12.6 13.1 * * 11.3 16.9 15.0 19.6

12 years ............................ 12.9 10.4 9.3 11.7 * * 11.1 13.0 10.7 17.1

13 years and over ...................... 10.6 * * * * * * 10.6 9.4 12.4

13–15 years ........................ 10.6 * * * * * * 10.5 9.3 12.6

16 years and over .................... * * * * * * * * * *

Mothers 20–34 years of age3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.7 8.8 8.8 10.0 7.2 7.9 8.6 9.6 7.8 18.2

0–11 years .......................... 13.8 9.9 9.3 11.2 9.2 9.2 10.6 14.9 12.2 21.3

0–8 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.7 9.2 9.4 8.6 * 8.7 9.0 13.8 12.2 20.0

9–11 years ......................... 14.3 10.4 9.1 12.0 * 9.7 11.1 15.0 12.1 21.5

12 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.8 8.2 8.3 9.9 7.0 7.3 7.1 9.9 8.1 17.7

13 years and over . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.3 6.7 6.9 6.8 6.4 6.9 6.7 7.3 6.2 14.8

13–15 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.0 7.5 7.5 7.5 7.2 7.3 7.7 8.0 6.5 15.4

16 years and over . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.4 5.2 * 4.9 * 6.1 * 6.3 5.8 13.1

Mothers 35 years and over 3 ............... 10.4 11.6 11.3 14.1 * 9.9 13.3 10.2 8.5 19.2

0–11 years .......................... 15.2 13.2 12.5 19.5 * 8.8 * 15.8 11.9 21.9

0–8 years ......................... 14.1 13.4 13.4 * * * * 14.3 10.9 20.0

9–11 years ......................... 15.9 12.9 * 20.1 * * * 16.5 12.3 22.8

12 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.3 10.9 * 13.0 * 10.0 * 11.1 9.2 18.8

13 years and over . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.4 8.7 * * * * * 8.3 7.5 16.5

13–15 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.3 10.3 * * * * * 9.1 7.9 16.5

16 years and over . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.9 6.8 * * * * * 7.9 7.2 16.4

1Origin of mother not stated included in ‘‘all origins’’ but not distributed among origin categories.

2Includes races other than white and black.

3Includes educational attainment of mother not stated.

8
reducing the probability that the infant would be born preterm

or at low birthweight (21). To overcome this potential bias, the

discussion of prenatal care in this report compares outcomes

for two groups: an ‘‘early’’ care group of mothers who began

prenatal care in the first trimester and a ‘‘later’’ care group of

mothers who began prenatal care in the second or third

trimesters or not at all.

Among the mothers who sought prenatal care in the first

trimester, the infant mortality rates for each Hispanic-origin

subgroup were similar to the non-Hispanic white rate of 7.3,

except for Puerto Rican infants, for whom the rate of 9.1 was

significantly higher. Among the mothers who began prenatal

care later in pregnancy or not at all, the Mexican infant

mortality rate (8.3) and the Central and South American rate

(7.8) were lower than the non-Hispanic white rate (11.2). The

Puerto Rican rate (12.3), in contrast, was higher than the

non-Hispanic white rate.

Infant mortality rates were lower for Mexican, Puerto

Rican, Cuban, and non-Hispanic white mothers who began

prenatal care in the first trimester compared with the corresponding mothers who began care later in pregnancy or not at

all. However, for Mexican and Central and South American

mothers, the relative disadvantage of obtaining late or no

prenatal care is less than that for non-Hispanic white mothers.

For example, for Mexican mothers with late or no prenatal

care, the infant mortality rate is 8.3, only 6 percent higher than

the rate of 7.8 for those beginning care in the first trimester. A

similar pattern is found for Central and South American

mothers. In contrast, for non-Hispanic white mothers, the

infant mortality rate for mothers with late or no prenatal care

is 11.2, 1.5 times the rate of 7.3 for those beginning care in the

first trimester. However, for Puerto Rican and Cuban mothers,

the infant mortality rates were about 1.4 times and 1.6 times

higher, respectively, for those with late or no prenatal care

compared with those beginning care in the first trimester.

Live-birth order

‘‘Live-birth order’’ refers to the number of children born

to the mother prior to and including the current birth. Of

Hispanic births, 66 percent were first- or second-order births

versus 77 percent of non-Hispanic white births (table B). The

percentage of births that were fifth or higher order was 2.7

times larger for Hispanic mothers (7.2 percent) than for nonHispanic white mothers (2.7 percent). Among the Hispanicorigin groups, Mexican mothers had the highest percentage of

births that were fifth or higher order (8.7 percent).

Generally, infant mortality rates increased with increasing

birth order, particularly for birth orders of four or more

(table E). Mortality rates for Hispanic infants were slightly

higher for first births than for second births, although this was

not true for non-Hispanic white infants in these data.

Further differentiating the birth order distribution by age

of mother shows that Hispanic and non-Hispanic white teenage mothers had the highest infant mortality rates at almost all

levels of live-birth order. Hispanic and non-Hispanic white

mothers under age 20 who had given birth to two or more

children had the highest infant mortality rates of any age/

parity group examined. Among teenage mothers, 26 percent of

Hispanic and 19 percent of non-Hispanic white mothers had

two or more births (table 6).

Among women 35 years of age and older, infant mortality

was higher among first borns relative to subsequent births,

although this difference was not statistically significant. The

percentage of first born children among women in this age

group was 11 percent for Hispanic mothers compared with

22 percent for non-Hispanic white mothers.

Place of birth

Slightly more than one-half (57 percent) of the Hispanicorigin mothers of infants born from 1985 to 1987 were born

outside the 50 States and the District of Columbia. However,

this percentage varied considerably between specified Hispanicorigin subgroups (table B). Cuban and Central and South

American mothers were most likely to have been born outside

the 50 States and the District of Columbia (87 percent and

98 percent, respectively). Slightly more than one-half (55 percent) of Mexican mothers were born outside the 50 States and

the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rican mothers were

Table D. Infant mortality rates by trimester of pregnancy prenatal care began and Hispanic origin of mother and by race of mother for

mothers of non-Hispanic origin: Total of 20 States and the District of Columbia, 1985–87 birth cohorts

[Rates per 1,000 live births in specified group.]

Trimester prenatal care began

All

origins1

Origin of mother

Hispanic Non-Hispanic

Total Mexican

Puerto

Rican Cuban

Central

and South

American

Other and

unknown

Hispanic Total2 White Black

All mothers3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.9 8.5 8.2 10.9 7.6 7.8 9.0 10.1 8.3 17.9

First trimester . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.5 7.8 7.8 9.1 6.6 7.4 7.7 8.6 7.3 16.0

Second and third trimester and no

prenatal care ........................ 12.4 8.8 8.3 12.3 10.7 7.8 10.4 13.6 11.2 18.9

Second trimester ..................... 10.5 7.6 7.3 8.7 9.5 6.8 9.1 11.4 9.7 15.3

Third trimester . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.6 6.1 5.7 8.8 * 5.3 7.5 9.6 8.9 11.6

No prenatal care ..................... 35.0 19.8 18.4 25.0 22.2 15.8 30.7 43.1 36.0 52.4

1Origin of mother not stated included in ‘‘all origins’’ but not distributed among origin categories.

2Includes races other than white and black.

3Includes trimester of pregnancy prenatal care began not stated.

9
about equally likely to be born in the 50 States and the District

of Columbia or in Puerto Rico.

Infant mortality rates were lower for Mexican and Puerto

Rican mothers born outside the 50 States and the District of

Columbia than for the corresponding mothers born in the 50

States and the District of Columbia (tables F,7,8). Differences

for Cuban and Central and South American groups were not

statistically significant. Other studies have also identified more

favorable birth outcomes for mothers born outside the 50

States and the District of Columbia for some Hispanic-origin

subgroups (16, 22–24). A lower percent of low-birthweight

births together with lower infant mortality rates at normal

birthweights may explain in part the lower infant mortality

rates for Mexican mothers born outside the 50 States and the

District of Columbia (tables F and 7).

Table E. Infant mortality rates by age of mother, live-birth order, and Hispanic origin of mother and by race of mother for mothers of

non-Hispanic origin: Total of 20 States and the District of Columbia, 1985–87 birth cohorts

[Rates are per 1,000 live births in specified group.]

Age of mother and

live-birth order

All

origins1

Origin of mother

Hispanic Non-Hispanic

Total Mexican

Puerto

Rican Cuban

Central

and South

American

Other and

unknown

Hispanic Total2 White Black

All mothers3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.9 8.5 8.2 10.9 7.6 7.8 9.0 10.1 8.3 17.9

First child . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.3 8.4 8.1 10.7 7.2 7.5 8.7 9.4 7.9 16.6

Second child . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.4 8.0 7.6 10.4 6.7 8.1 8.6 9.5 8.0 17.3

Third child ......................... 10.3 8.3 7.8 10.8 9.2 7.4 9.7 10.8 8.8 18.1

Fourth child ........................ 12.2 9.1 9.0 11.5 * 7.2 8.9 13.1 10.3 21.1

Fifth child .......................... 13.2 9.4 8.8 13.3 * 9.0 11.5 14.6 11.5 21.9

Sixth child or more .................... 14.6 11.3 10.9 16.7 * 12.3 10.4 16.1 12.6 23.4

Mothers under 20 years of age3 ............. 14.4 10.6 10.0 13.2 11.4 10.3 11.5 15.3 13.3 18.9

First child .......................... 12.4 9.6 9.1 11.2 12.1 10.1 10.0 13.1 11.5 16.1

Second child ........................ 19.7 12.9 12.0 17.4 * 11.5 15.4 21.8 19.9 24.2

Third child ......................... 24.9 15.5 13.8 25.2 * * * 28.1 26.2 29.7

Fourth child ........................ 28.9 18.7 * * * * * 32.8 28.2 35.9

Fifth child .......................... 39.8 * * * * * * * * *

Sixth child or more .................... * * * * * * * * * *

Mothers 20–34 years of age3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.2 7.9 7.6 10.1 7.2 7.4 8.4 9.4 7.8 17.5

First child . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.3 7.7 7.4 10.3 6.6 7.0 7.9 8.2 7.0 16.6

Second child . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.6 7.3 6.9 9.0 6.4 7.9 7.8 8.7 7.4 15.9

Third child ......................... 10.0 7.8 7.4 9.6 9.8 7.2 9.3 10.5 8.7 17.3

Fourth child ........................ 12.4 8.9 8.9 10.5 * 6.5 9.0 13.4 10.6 21.2

Fifth child .......................... 13.9 9.2 8.7 14.2 * * 11.0 15.7 12.5 22.5

Sixth child or more .................... 16.3 11.8 11.0 19.1 * * * 18.2 14.4 24.7

Mothers 35 years of age and over3 . . . . . . . . . . . 9.9 10.0 9.9 13.6 8.4 9.1 9.4 9.8 8.4 18.6

First child .......................... 10.7 11.4 13.5 * * 8.4 * 10.5 9.0 27.2

Second child . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.7 9.5 9.2 14.3 * 8.7 * 8.5 7.8 15.7

Third child . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.9 9.6 9.4 14.1 * 8.1 * 8.7 7.7 16.1

Fourth child ........................ 10.0 9.6 8.8 * * 9.8 * 10.1 8.4 17.0

Fifth child .......................... 10.4 9.9 9.3 * * * * 10.6 8.6 16.5

Sixth child or more .................... 12.2 10.6 10.8 * * * * 13.0 10.5 20.2

1Origin of mother not stated included in ‘‘all origins’’ but not distributed among origin categories.

2Includes races other than white and black.

3Includes live-birth order not stated.

10
Table F. Infant mortality rates by place of birth of mother, birthweight, and Hispanic origin of mother and by race of mother for mothers

of non-Hispanic origin: Total of 20 States and the District of Columbia, 1985–87 birth cohorts

[Rates per 1,000 live births in specified group.]

Place of birth of mother

and birthweight

All

origins1

Origin of mother

Hispanic Non-Hispanic

Total Mexican

Puerto

Rican Cuban

Central

and South

American

Other and

unknown

Hispanic Total2 White Black

All places of birth of mother3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.9 8.5 8.2 10.9 7.6 7.8 9.0 10.1 8.3 17.9

Less than 1,500 grams ................. 361.0 346.6 353.6 322.6 376.1 331.7 347.0 361.3 371.8 347.8

1,500–2,499 grams .................... 26.5 25.9 27.6 23.0 20.8 22.4 25.2 26.5 27.7 24.4

2,500 grams or more . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.0 3.6 3.5 4.3 2.7 3.3 3.9 4.1 3.7 6.2

Mother born in the 50 States and the

District of Columbia .................... 10.1 9.1 8.7 11.2 11.7 7.4 9.2 10.2 8.3 18.0

Less than 1,500 grams ................. 357.9 341.1 342.7 316.0 4

509.8 * 351.6 358.9 368.5 344.6

1,500–2,499 grams .................... 26.5 24.3 24.8 21.6 * * 25.3 26.6 27.7 24.4

2,500 grams or more . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.2 4.0 3.9 4.7 * * 4.0 4.2 3.7 6.3

Mother born outside the 50 States and the

District of Columbia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.2 7.9 7.7 10.5 7.0 7.8 7.5 8.5 7.7 13.5

Less than 1,500 grams ................. 350.3 348.1 361.7 326.1 351.4 333.8 288.3 349.5 375.6 338.9

1,500–2,499 grams .................... 25.6 27.3 30.6 24.5 19.7 22.3 22.6 23.7 25.2 22.8

2,500 grams or more . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.3 3.3 3.2 3.9 2.6 3.3 3.4 3.4 3.1 4.5

1Origin of mother not stated included in ‘‘all origins’’ but not distributed among origin categories.

2Includes races other than white and black.

3Includes place of birth of mother not stated.

4This infant mortality rate is based on only 51 births and 26 infant deaths and therefore is subject to considerable statistical variation (see Appendix).

11
Characteristics of the infant

and the pregnancy

Birthweight

Birthweight is one of the most important predictor variables of the subsequent health and survival of an infant.

Among Hispanic-origin infants in the study population, 58 percent of all infant deaths occurred to the 6.1 percent of infants

born weighing less than 2,500 grams (table 9). For nonHispanic white infants, 57 percent of all infant deaths occurred

to the 5.6 percent of infants born weighing less than 2,500

grams.

Low birthweight is defined as a weight of less than 2,500

grams at birth. The low-birthweight group can be further

divided into two subcategories: very low-birthweight infants,

with a weight of less than 1,500 grams at birth, and moderately low-birthweight infants, with a weight of 1,500–2,499

grams at birth.

Overall, the birthweight distributions for infants of Mexican, Cuban, and Central and South American mothers were

very similar to those for non-Hispanic white mothers, with

0.9–1.1 percent of births at very low birthweight, 4.7–

4.8 percent at moderately low birthweight, and 94.3–

94.4 percent at normal birthweight (table B). In contrast, the

percentages of very low and moderately low-birthweight

infants were about 50 percent higher for infants of Puerto

Rican mothers.

In general, infant mortality rates decline as birthweight

increases (tables G and 9, figure 3). Among very lowbirthweight infants, mortality rates were very high in all race

and Hispanic-origin subgroups. More than one-third of babies

in this weight range died within their first year of life. About

2–3 percent of moderately low-birthweight infants died within

their first year.

For very low-birthweight infants, mortality rates were

lower for Mexican, Puerto Rican, and Central and South

American infants than for non-Hispanic white infants. For

moderately low-birthweight infants, rates were lower for Puerto

Rican, Cuban, and Central and South American infants than

for non-Hispanic white infants.

Among normal weight births, infants of Puerto Rican

mothers experienced mortality rates that were significantly

higher (4.3) than the non-Hispanic white rate of 3.7 (table G).

Cuban infants had the lowest rate (2.7), and the rates for the

Table G. Infant mortality rates by plurality of birth, birthweight, and Hispanic origin of mother and by race of mother for mothers of

non-Hispanic origin: Total of 20 States and the District of Columbia, 1985–87 birth cohorts

[Rates per 1,000 live births in specified group.]

Plurality and birthweight

All

origins1

Origin of mother

Hispanic Non-Hispanic

Total Mexican

Puerto

Rican Cuban

Central

and South

American

Other and

unknown

Hispanic Total2 White Black

All deliveries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.9 8.5 8.2 10.9 7.6 7.8 9.0 10.1 8.3 17.9

Less than 1,500 grams ................. 361.0 346.6 353.6 322.6 376.1 331.7 347.0 361.3 371.8 347.8

1,500–2,499 grams .................... 26.5 25.9 27.6 23.0 20.8 22.4 25.2 26.5 27.7 24.4

2,500 grams or more . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.0 3.6 3.5 4.3 2.7 3.3 3.9 4.1 3.7 6.2

Single deliveries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.0 7.8 7.6 10.1 6.8 7.2 8.2 9.2 7.5 16.4

Less than 1,500 grams ................. 357.7 343.0 351.9 323.2 364.3 329.5 329.1 358.4 368.0 346.8

1,500–2,499 grams .................... 28.5 27.9 30.0 23.8 23.4 23.6 27.5 28.5 30.6 25.1

2,500 grams or more . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.0 3.6 3.5 4.2 2.7 3.2 3.9 4.1 3.6 6.1

Plural deliveries ....................... 51.2 44.4 42.8 49.6 44.0 39.6 55.6 51.4 45.2 74.5

Less than 1,500 grams ................. 375.6 364.9 361.6 319.0 431.0 345.5 431.2 373.7 385.3 353.6

1,500–2,499 grams .................... 15.3 14.1 14.5 16.9 * * * 15.5 14.4 19.2

2,500 grams or more . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.2 5.6 4.4 11.1 * * * 6.2 5.6 9.3

1Origin of mother not stated included in ‘‘all origins’’ but not distributed among origin categories.

2Includes races other than white and black.

12
other Hispanic-origin subgroups were similar to the nonHispanic white rate. The results were similar when single

births were examined separately (table G).

Period of gestation

Preterm delivery, defined as the delivery of an infant

before 37 completed weeks of gestation, is another important

predictor of the infant’s subsequent health and survival (figure 3). There is a close association of preterm delivery with

low birthweight (table 10). Even within birthweight categories, infant mortality rates vary substantially according to

period of gestation, with the infants with the shortest periods

of gestation having higher infant mortality rates (table H).

The percentage of infants born preterm varied among the

specific Hispanic-origin subgroups: 9.1 percent for Cuban

infants, 10.2 percent for Central and South American infants,

10.8 percent for Mexican infants, and a high of 12.6 percent

for Puerto Rican infants (table B). The percentages for all

Hispanic-origin subgroups are significantly higher than the

8.0 percent of preterm births to non-Hispanic white mothers.

Approximately three-quarters of all the infants born in 1985–87

had a normal period of gestation of 37–41 weeks. This

percentage varied less than 3 percentage points among the

specified Hispanic-origin groups. Post-term births comprised

the remaining 12–14 percent of live births.

Infant mortality rates by period of gestation exhibited a

curvilinear pattern: rates were highest for the shortest periods

of gestation, lowest for term pregnancies, and moderately high

for post-term pregnancies (table H). Among very early deliveries (under 28 weeks gestation), infant mortality rates for the

specified Hispanic-origin groups were either about the same as

(Cuban) or lower than (Mexican, Puerto Rican, Central and

South American) the non-Hispanic white infant mortality rate

of 434.7 deaths per 1,000 live births. Among moderately

preterm deliveries (28–36 weeks gestation), this same relationship held true. Among full term infants (37–41 weeks gestation), the Puerto Rican infant mortality rate (5.3) was higher

and the Cuban rate (3.1) lower than the non-Hispanic white

rate (3.9). Among the post-term deliveries (42 weeks gestation

or longer), infant mortality rates for the specific Hispanicorigin groups were not statistically different from the nonHispanic white rate of 4.6.

Multiple births

Multiple births are an important component of infant

mortality analyses because infants born in multiple deliveries

have a higher risk of infant death than singleton infants. Their

elevated risk is related in part to a tendency of infants of

multiple births to be born earlier and weigh less than those

born singly. In this data set, the percent of multiple births

among the specified Hispanic groups (table B) ranged from

1.7 percent for Central and South American births up to

2.1 percent for Cuban births compared with 2.2 percent for

non-Hispanic white births.

The infant mortality rate among multiple births (table G)

was about five times higher than for single births. Much of this

elevated risk relates to the less favorable birthweight distribution of multiple births compared with singletons. For the study

population as a whole, 51.0 percent of all infants of multiple

deliveries were born at low birthweight compared with 5.9 percent for singletons (table 9). Differences in birthweightspecific infant mortality rates by plurality of birth are shown in

table G. Notable among these is the significantly higher infant

mortality rate for normal birthweight multiple births when

compared with normal birthweight singletons. Among infants

of multiple deliveries, infants of Central and South American

mothers had the lowest infant mortality rate (39.6) among the

specified Hispanic-origin groups; this rate was significantly

different from the non-Hispanic white rate of 45.2.

1 3 4 6 7 9 10 25 40 55 70 85 100 250 400 550

Rate per 1,000 live births

Less than

1,500 grams

1,500 

2,499 grams

2,500 or

more grams

Less than

28 weeks

28 36 weeks

37 41 weeks

42 or more

weeks

Non Hispanic white Hispanic

Birthweight Gestation

Figure 3. Infant mortality rates by birthweight and period of gestation for Hispanic and non-Hispanic white infants: Total of 20 States and

the District of Columbia, 1985–87 birth cohorts

13
Age at death

For the total population, 53 percent of the infant deaths

occurred in the early neonatal period (under 7 days of age),

11 percent occurred in the late neonatal period (7–27 days of

age), and 36 percent occurred in the postneonatal period (28

days through 11 months of age). The distribution of deaths by

age was similar for most of the race and ethnic groups;

however, an even higher percentage of deaths occurred in the

early neonatal period for Puerto Rican (58 percent) and Cuban

infants (61 percent), with correspondingly lower percentages

of deaths occurring in the late neonatal and postneonatal

periods (table 11).

Mortality rates by age at death for Mexican and Central

and South American infants were very similar to those for

non-Hispanic white infants (table J). The relatively higher

infant mortality rate for Puerto Rican infants (10.9 compared

with 8.3 for non-Hispanic white infants) was due primarily to

an early neonatal mortality rate (6.3) that was 45 percent

higher than the rate for non-Hispanic white infants (4.3).

Infants of Cuban mothers experienced the lowest infant mortality rates, due primarily to a postneonatal mortality rate (2.2)

that was 27 percent lower than the non-Hispanic white rate

of 3.0.

Sex of infant

Fifty-one percent of the births were male in each specified

Hispanic group and the non-Hispanic white group. The infant

mortality rate for male babies is higher than for female babies

in all specified Hispanic and non-Hispanic groups (table J).

For Hispanic-origin infants overall, male infants had a 27 percent higher mortality rate than female infants. The corresponding figure for non-Hispanic white infants was 31 percent.

Underlying cause of death

The four leading causes of death were the same for all

race and Hispanic-origin groups (tables K and 12), however

the rankings were not identical. Congenital anomalies was the

leading cause of death for all specified groups except nonHispanic blacks, where it ranked second. Sudden Infant Death

Syndrome (SIDS) was the leading cause of death for nonHispanic black infants, the second leading cause for nonHispanic white infants, and ranked either third or fourth for

each of the specific Hispanic-origin groups. The remaining

two causes among the top four for all race and Hispanic-origin

groups were Respiratory distress syndrome and Disorders

relating to short gestation and unspecified low birthweight.

Table H. Infant mortality rates by period of gestation, birthweight, and Hispanic origin of mother and by race of mother for mothers of

non-Hispanic origin: Total of 20 States and the District of Columbia, 1985–87 birth cohorts

[Rates per 1,000 live births in specified group.]

Period of gestation and birthweight

All

origins1

Origin of mother

Hispanic Non-Hispanic

Total Mexican

Puerto

Rican Cuban

Central

and South

American

Other and

unknown

Hispanic Total2 White Black

All gestational periods3,4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.9 8.5 8.2 10.9 7.6 7.8 9.0 10.1 8.3 17.9

Less than 1,500 grams ................. 361.0 346.6 353.6 322.6 376.1 331.7 347.0 361.3 371.8 347.8

1,500–2,499 grams .................... 26.5 25.9 27.6 23.0 20.8 22.4 25.2 26.5 27.7 24.4

2,500 grams or more . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.0 3.6 3.5 4.3 2.7 3.3 3.9 4.1 3.7 6.2

Less than 28 weeks4 .................... 401.3 372.9 363.9 383.3 429.4 380.4 391.6 403.9 434.7 370.0

Less than 1,500 grams ................. 574.5 563.8 568.4 529.6 570.3 546.2 597.0 575.1 610.1 533.7

1,500–2,499 grams .................... 64.7 64.2 68.3 * * * * 64.5 79.0 52.4

2,500 grams or more .................. 32.0 35.1 27.5 * * * * 30.7 30.2 32.8

28–36 weeks4 ........................ 23.6 19.5 18.9 22.1 21.0 19.0 20.6 24.4 25.0 23.9

Less than 1,500 grams ................. 170.5 176.6 180.7 166.7 190.8 170.6 169.0 168.6 182.6 145.4

1,500–2,499 grams .................... 28.1 27.0 27.5 25.4 * 24.8 30.4 28.2 29.7 25.4

2,500 grams or more . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.8 6.5 6.5 7.6 * 6.6 5.4 8.1 7.9 8.7

37–41 weeks4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.3 3.9 3.7 5.3 3.1 3.6 4.3 4.4 3.9 7.0

Less than 1,500 grams ................. 208.3 192.6 167.0 235.8 * 229.4 * 209.3 198.0 221.0

1,500–2,499 grams .................... 21.9 21.5 24.2 19.2 * 13.3 19.0 21.9 22.7 20.4

2,500 grams or more . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.5 3.1 3.0 3.9 2.3 2.8 3.7 3.6 3.2 5.5

42 weeks and over4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.1 4.6 4.5 5.2 * 4.7 4.4 5.2 4.6 8.3

Less than 1,500 grams ................. 245.6 228.0 * * * * * 249.7 220.9 294.1

1,500–2,499 grams .................... 29.6 30.3 30.5 * * * * 29.0 30.3 26.6

2,500 grams or more . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.2 3.7 3.8 3.4 * 3.4 3.7 4.3 3.9 6.4

1Origin of mother not stated included in ‘‘all origins’’ but not distributed among origin categories.

2Includes races other than white and black.

3Includes period of gestation not stated.

4Includes birthweight not stated.

14
The four leading causes of death taken together accounted for

more than one-half of all infant deaths. In general, infant

mortality rates from Congenital anomalies were roughly comparable between Hispanic and non-Hispanic white infants.

Infant mortality rates for all of the Hispanic-origin groups

were substantially lower than for non-Hispanic whites for

SIDS (12–53 percent lower) and Newborn affected by complications of placenta, cord, and membranes (26–51 percent

lower) (table L). Infant mortality rates from Septicemia and

Neonatal hemorrhage were 50 percent higher for Hispanic

than for non-Hispanic white infants. Age-adjusted death rates

for adults, children, and infants combined have also indicated

that Septicemia was a more frequent cause of death among the

Hispanic-origin population than among the non-Hispanic white

population in 1979–81 (25).

Infant mortality rates from Respiratory distress syndrome

and Disorders relating to short gestation and unspecified low

birthweight were higher for Puerto Rican than for nonHispanic white infants. Since these two causes of death are

closely associated with low birthweight, this may reflect the

higher percentage of low birthweight infants born to Puerto

Rican mothers.

Table J. Infant, neonatal, and postneonatal mortality rates and race ratios by sex, age at death, and Hispanic origin of mother and by

race of mother for mothers of non-Hispanic origin: Total of 20 States and the District of Columbia, 1985–87 birth cohorts

[Rates per 1,000 live births in specified group.]

Sex and age at

death of infant

All

origins1

Origin of mother

Hispanic Non-Hispanic

Total Mexican

Puerto

Rican Cuban

Central

and South

American

Other and

unknown

Hispanic Total2 White Black

Rates

Both sexes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.9 8.5 8.2 10.9 7.6 7.8 9.0 10.1 8.3 17.9

Neonatal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.4 5.5 5.3 7.3 5.4 5.2 5.8 6.4 5.3 11.5

Early neonatal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.3 4.5 4.2 6.3 4.6 4.3 4.9 5.3 4.3 9.8

Late neonatal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.1 1.0 1.1 1.0 0.8 0.9 0.9 1.1 0.9 1.7

Postneonatal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.5 3.0 3.0 3.6 2.2 2.6 3.3 3.7 3.0 6.4

Male . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.1 9.5 9.2 12.2 9.1 8.6 10.0 11.3 9.4 19.6

Neonatal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.1 6.1 5.9 8.0 6.4 5.6 6.5 7.1 5.9 12.5

Early neonatal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.9 5.0 4.7 6.9 5.4 4.5 5.4 5.9 4.9 10.8

Late neonatal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.2 1.1 1.1 1.1 0.9 1.1 1.0 1.2 1.1 1.7

Postneonatal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.0 3.4 3.3 4.2 2.8 3.0 3.6 4.2 3.5 7.0

Female . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.7 7.5 7.2 9.6 5.9 7.0 8.0 8.9 7.2 16.1

Neonatal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.7 4.8 4.6 6.5 4.3 4.7 5.0 5.7 4.6 10.4

Early neonatal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.7 3.9 3.6 5.7 3.7 4.0 4.3 4.7 3.8 8.7

Late neonatal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.0 0.9 1.0 0.8 0.6 0.7 0.8 1.0 0.8 1.7

Postneonatal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.1 2.6 2.6 3.1 1.6 2.2 2.9 3.2 2.6 5.7

Race ratios3

Both sexes .......................... 1.19 1.02 0.99 1.31 0.91 0.94 1.08 1.21 1.00 2.15

Neonatal .......................... 1.21 1.04 0.99 1.38 1.02 0.98 1.09 1.21 1.00 2.17

Early neonatal ..................... 1.22 1.03 0.96 1.45 1.06 0.98 1.12 1.23 1.00 2.25

Late neonatal ...................... 1.14 1.07 1.13 1.02 0.82 0.95 0.97 1.15 1.00 1.80

Postneonatal ....................... 1.17 0.99 0.98 1.21 0.73 0.87 1.08 1.22 1.00 2.12

Male .............................. 1.18 1.01 0.98 1.30 0.97 0.92 1.06 1.20 1.00 2.08

Neonatal .......................... 1.19 1.03 0.99 1.36 1.07 0.95 1.09 1.20 1.00 2.11

Early neonatal ..................... 1.21 1.03 0.97 1.43 1.11 0.93 1.12 1.22 1.00 2.23

Late neonatal ...................... 1.10 1.04 1.07 1.03 0.88 0.99 0.96 1.10 1.00 1.59

Postneonatal ....................... 1.15 0.97 0.95 1.20 0.80 0.86 1.02 1.20 1.00 2.03

Female ............................ 1.22 1.04 1.00 1.34 0.83 0.97 1.11 1.24 1.00 2.25

Neonatal .......................... 1.22 1.05 0.99 1.41 0.94 1.02 1.09 1.23 1.00 2.25

Early neonatal ..................... 1.23 1.03 0.94 1.49 0.98 1.05 1.12 1.24 1.00 2.28

Late neonatal ...................... 1.21 1.13 1.23 1.00 0.73 0.90 0.97 1.21 1.00 2.09

Postneonatal ....................... 1.20 1.02 1.02 1.21 0.63 0.87 1.15 1.25 1.00 2.25

1Origin of mother not stated included in ‘‘all origins’’ but not distributed among origin categories.

2Includes races other than white and black.

3Relative to infant mortality rate for non-Hispanic white population.

15
Table K. Infant mortality rates and rankings for leading causes of infant death by Hispanic origin of mother and by race of mother for mothers 

States and the District of Columbia, 1985–87 birth cohorts[Rates per 100,000 live births in specified group.]

Causes of death

Ninth Revision International Classification

of Diseases, 1975

Origin of mother

All origins1 Total Mexican Puerto Rican Cuban

Central and

South American

Other and

unknown Hispanic 

Rank Rate Rank Rate Rank Rate Rank Rate Rank Rate Rank Rate Rank Rate 

All causes of death . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... 993.5 . . . 849.4 . . . 820.5 . . . 1,093.6 . . . 758.4 . . . 780.3 . . . 902.3 Congenital anomalies ................ 740–759 1 210.0 1 207.7 1 208.0 1 209.1 1 184.7 1 197.1 1 223.2 Sudden infant death syndrome ............ 798.0 2 127.3 3 83.1 3 80.2 4 102.8 3 77.8 4 54.4 2 117.7 Respiratory distress syndrome . . . . . . . . . . . . . 769 3 91.9 2 88.5 2 87.9 2 118.8 4 64.8 2 76.5 3 83.1 

Disorders relating to short gestation and

unspecified low birthweight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 765 4 84.7 4 64.4 4 55.5 3 106.3 2 87.5 3 72.8 4 64.9 

Newborn affected by maternal complications

of pregnancy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 761 5 31.9 7 18.6 9 16.4 5 21.4 * * 6 16.2 6 24.2 

Intrauterine hypoxia and birth asphyxia . . . . . . . . 768 6 23.8 5 21.6 6 22.2 5 21.4 * * 7 15.4 5 26.0 

Accidents and adverse effects ......... E800-E949 7 23.3 6 20.9 5 24.8 7 18.8 * * * * * * 

Infections specific to the perinatal period . . . . . . . 771 8 22.9 8 17.8 8 16.6 * * * * 5 18.4 7 22.5 

Newborn affected by complications of

placenta, cord, and membranes . . . . . . . . . . . 762 9 19.6 10 12.1 10 13.2 * * * * * * * * 

Pneumonia and influenza ............. 480–487 10 19.5 9 16.8 7 17.8 8 17.9 * * * * * * Other leading causes in specific ethnic groups:Neonatal hemorrhage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 772 11 9.3 11 10.0 11 9.0 * * * * * * * * 

Septicemia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 038 12 7.2 12 7.5 12 7.3 * * * * * * * * All other causes ................... Residual . . . 322.0 . . . 280.4 . . . 261.7 . . . 421.7 . . . 207.4 . . . 277.3 . . . 286.4 

1Origin of mother not stated included in ‘‘all origins’’ but not distributed among origin categories.2Includes races other than white and black.

16
Table L. Infant mortality ratios for leading causes of infant death by Hispanic origin of mother and by race of mother for mothers of

non-Hispanic origin: Total of 20 States and the District of Columbia, 1985–87 birth cohorts

[Ratios are computed by dividing the infant mortality rate of the specified group by the infant mortality rate of the non-Hispanic white group.]

Cause of death

Ninth Revision International Classification

of Diseases, 1975

All

origins1

Origin of mother

Hispanic Non-Hispanic

Total Mexican

Puerto

Rican Cuban

Central

and South

American

Other and

unknown

Hispanic Total2 White Black

All causes of death ....................... 1.19 1.02 0.99 1.31 0.91 0.94 1.08 1.21 1.00 2.15

Congenital anomalies ................ 740–759 1.03 1.02 1.02 1.03 0.91 0.97 1.09 1.02 1.00 1.10

Sudden infant death syndrome ............ 798.0 1.09 0.71 0.69 0.88 0.67 0.47 1.01 1.17 1.00 1.94

Respiratory distress syndrome . . . . . . . . . . . . . 769 1.20 1.16 1.15 1.56 0.85 1.00 1.09 1.19 1.00 2.07

Disorders relating to short gestation and 1.54 1.17 1.01 1.93 1.59 1.32 1.18 1.57 1.00 4.06

unspecified low birthweight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 765

Newborn affected by maternal complications

of pregnancy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 761 1.15 0.67 0.59 0.77 * 0.58 0.87 1.21 1.00 2.22

Intrauterine hypoxia and birth asphyxia . . . . . . . . 768 1.27 1.15 1.19 1.14 * 0.82 1.38 1.28 1.00 2.51

Accidents and adverse effects ......... E800-E949 1.14 1.02 1.21 0.92 * * * 1.16 1.00 1.89

Infections specific to the perinatal period . . . . . . . 771 1.20 0.93 0.87 * * 0.96 1.18 1.23 1.00 2.27

Newborn affected by complications of

placenta, cord, and membranes . . . . . . . . . . . 762 1.10 0.68 0.74 * * * * 1.15 1.00 1.91

Pneumonia and influenza ............. 480–487 1.33 1.15 1.22 1.22 * * * 1.38 1.00 2.87

Other leading causes in specific ethnic groups:

Neonatal hemorrhage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 772 1.39 1.48 1.33 * * * * 1.35 1.00 2.79

Septicemia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 038 1.45 1.51 1.47 * * * * 1.45 1.00 3.37

All other causes ................... Residual 1.29 1.12 1.05 1.69 0.83 1.11 1.15 1.31 1.00 2.61

1Origin of mother not stated included in ‘‘all origins’’ but not distributed among origin categories.

2Includes races other than white and black.

17
Discussion

The infant mortality experience of the Hispanic-origin

population of the United States has been called an ‘‘epidemiological paradox’’ because of their generally favorable birth

outcomes despite their higher incidence of socioeconomic and

demographic risk factors (16,26). Infant mortality rates for

most Hispanic-origin subgroups were similar to those for

non-Hispanic white mothers, despite the higher proportion of

Hispanic-origin births to mothers in high-risk groups (table B).

The exception was for Puerto Rican infants who had higher

infant mortality rates and a higher proportion of births to

mothers in high-risk groups than did non-Hispanic white

infants.

One of the most interesting findings of this report was that

characteristics of the mother traditionally identified as risk

factors for infant mortality (teenage childbearing, unmarried

childbearing, lower educational levels, and prenatal care initiated after the first trimester or not at all) elevate the relative

risk of infant death less for some Hispanic-origin subgroups

than for non-Hispanic white mothers (table M). For Mexican

and Central and South American mothers, the ratios of infant

mortality rates for ‘‘high’’ and ‘‘low’’ risk groups of selected

maternal characteristics were all substantially lower than those

for non-Hispanic white mothers. For Puerto Rican mothers,

the picture was somewhat mixed, with the ratios for age,

marital status, and educational attainment of the mother lower

than those for non-Hispanic white mothers. The ratio for

prenatal care was lower, but not significantly so, compared

with the non-Hispanic white ratio. In contrast, ratios for Cuban

mothers were similar to those for non-Hispanic white mothers

for each of the maternal characteristics studied.

There seemed to be a general association between the

prevalence of the risk factor and the degree of disadvantage it

exerted on infant mortality rates, although this relationship did

not hold true in all cases. Compared with the other Hispanicorigin subgroups, Cuban mothers had a smaller percentage of

their births in the ‘‘high’’ risk maternal categories; their overall

childbearing pattern, at least in relation to the four maternal

characteristics examined here, was more similar to that for

non-Hispanic white mothers than to that for the other Hispanicorigin groups. The Cuban infant mortality rate (7.6) was the

lowest of any of the race or Hispanic-origin groups.

Previous studies have related the generally favorable

pregnancy outcomes for Hispanic mothers to their lower levels

of smoking and alcohol use, and more favorable weight gain

profiles (22,24,27), as well as to a greater degree of familial

integration (28). A greater degree of familial integration may

also lead to increased social supports for pregnant women and

new mothers. The findings of lower infant mortality rates for

Mexican and Puerto Rican mothers born outside the 50 States

and the District of Columbia than for those born in the 50

States and the District of Columbia tend to support this

hypothesis, as well as suggesting a gradual dilution of this

traditional cultural framework with more time spent in the

United States (23).

Table M. Infant mortality risk ratios for specified groups with selected maternal characteristics, by Hispanic origin of mother and race of

mother for mothers of non-Hispanic origin: Total of 20 States and the District of Columbia, 1985–87 birth cohorts

[Ratios are computed by dividing the infant mortality rate of the specified group in the high risk category by the infant mortality rate of the specified group in the low risk

category]

Characteristic

All

origins1

Origin of mother

Hispanic Non-Hispanic

Total Mexican

Puerto

Rican Cuban

Central

and South

American

Other and

unknown

Hispanic Total2 White Black

Mothers under the age of 20/mothers

25–29 years of age .................... 1.69 1.43 1.37 1.35 1.97 1.47 1.58 1.78 1.85 1.11

Unmarried/married ..................... 1.93 1.38 1.30 1.52 1.88 1.25 1.50 2.07 1.83 1.33

Mothers completing less than 12 years of school/

mothers completing 12 years or more3 ........ 1.47 1.27 1.21 1.20 1.61 1.21 1.46 1.56 1.60 1.18

Prenatal care began after first trimester or no

care/care began in first trimester ............ 1.46 1.13 1.06 1.35 1.62 1.05 1.35 1.58 1.53 1.18

1Origin of mother not stated included in ‘‘all origins’’ but not distributed among origin categories.

2Includes races other than white and black.

3Data from 18 States and the District of Columbia.

18
For each Hispanic-origin subgroup, infant mortality rates

by birthweight were lower than or similar to those for

non-Hispanic whites. The exception was for Puerto Rican

infants who weighed 2,500 grams or more at birth—this group

had an infant mortality rate of 4.3 compared with 3.7 for

non-Hispanic white infants. Puerto Rican mothers had about a

63 percent higher percentage of low-birthweight infants than

non-Hispanic white mothers, while the percents of lowbirthweight births for the other Hispanic-origin subgroups

were similar to those for the non-Hispanic white group.

Overall, the factors that most influenced the differences in

overall infant mortality rates were differences in normal

birthweight mortality and differences in birthweight distribution. Although a higher percentage of Hispanic than nonHispanic white infants were born preterm, infant mortality

rates for Hispanic preterm births were lower than or similar to

the non-Hispanic white rates.

The cause-of-infant-death profile for Hispanic infants was

different from that for non-Hispanic white infants, with lower

infant mortality rates for SIDS and for Newborn affected by

complications of placenta, cord, and membranes. Hispanic

infant mortality rates were higher than non-Hispanic white

rates for Septicemia and Neonatal hemorrhage, while Puerto

Rican infants had higher rates from low birthweight-associated

causes such as Respiratory distress syndrome and Disorders

relating to short gestation and unspecified low birthweight.

More detailed investigation of these differences may lead to

intervention strategies to improve outcomes for both Hispanic

and non-Hispanic white groups.

In summary, infant mortality rates for Hispanic infants are

low despite a higher incidence of recognized risk factors. The

presence of selected maternal risk factors was associated with

elevated infant mortality rates, although the differences in

infant mortality rates between high- and low-risk groups were

smaller for Mexican, Puerto Rican, and Central and South

American infants than for non-Hispanic white and Cuban

infants. The data suggest that interventions aimed at improving the access to and quality of prenatal and perinatal care, and

reducing the percentage of births to high-risk women (perhaps

through improved provision of family planning services) do

have the potential to further lower Hispanic infant mortality

rates.

19
References

1. Gould JB, Davey B, LeRoy S. Socioeconomic differentials and

neonatal mortality: Racial comparison of California singletons.

Pediatrics 83(2):181–6. 1989.

2. Liu JT, Regan C, Orloff TM, Rivera LA. The health of

America’s children 1992: Maternal and child health data book.

Washington: Children’s Defense Fund. 1992.

3. Babson SG, Clarke NG. Relationship between infant death and

maternal age. J Pediatr 103(3):391–3. 1983.

4. Centers for Disease Control. Infant mortality by marital status

of mother—United States, 1983. MMWR 39(30):521–3. 1990.

5. MacDorman MF, Rosenberg HM. Trends in infant mortality by

cause of death and other characteristics, 1960–88. National

Center for Health Statistics. Vital Health Stat 20(20). 1993.

6. National Center for Health Statistics. Births, marriages, divorces,

and deaths for 1993. Monthly vital statistics report; vol 42 no

12. Hyattsville, Maryland: Public Health Services. 1994.

7. Office of International Statistics. Fetal-infant mortality data

base. National Center for Health Statistics. Unpublished data.

1994.

8. National Center for Health Statistics. Health United States,

1993. Hyattsville, Maryland: Public Health Service. 1994.

9. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Healthy

People 2000. National health promotion and disease prevention

objectives. Washington: Public Health Service. 1990.

10. Binkin NJ, Rust KR, Williams RL. Racial differences in neonatal mortality. Am J Dis Child 142:434–40. 1988.

11. Buchanan A, Weiss KM. Infant mortality in a MexicanAmerican community: Laredo, Texas, 1950–77. Soc Biol 38(3–

4):233–41. 1991.

12. Rogers RG. Ethnic and birthweight differences in cause-specific

infant mortality. Demography 26(2):335–43. 1989.

13. Williams RL, Binkin NJ, Clingman EJ. Pregnancy outcomes

among Spanish-surname women in California. Am J Public

Health 76:387–91. 1986.

14. Selby ML, Lee ES, Tuttle DM, Loe HD. Validity of the Spanish

surname infant mortality rate as a health status indicator for the

Mexican-American population. Am J Public Health 74(9):998–

1002. 1984.

15. Powell-Griner E, Streck D. A closer examination of neonatal

mortality rates among the Texas Spanish surname population.

Am J Public Health 72(9):993–9. 1982.

16. Becerra JE, Hogue CJR, Atrash HK, Perez N. Infant mortality

among Hispanics; a portrait of heterogeneity. JAMA 265(2):217–

21. 1991.

17. Kleinman JC. Infant mortality among racial/ethnic minority

groups, 1983–84. MMWR CDC Surveill Summ. 39(3):31–9.

1990.

18. Hahn RA, Mulinare J, Teutsch SM. Inconsistencies in coding of

race and ethnicity between birth and death in U.S. infants.

JAMA 267:259–63. 1992.

19. U.S. Bureau of the Census. 1980 Census of population, Persons

of Spanish origin by State, 1980. Supplementary report; PC80–

S1–7. Washington: U.S. Department of Commerce. 1982.

20. Prager, K. Infant mortality by birthweight and other characteristics: United States, 1985 birth cohort. National Center for

Health Statistics. Vital Health Stat 20(24). 1994.

21. Kleinman JC. Methodological issues in the analysis of vital

statistics. In: Reproductive and perinatal epidemiology, Kiely

M, ed. CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida. 1991.

22. Mendoza FS, Ventura SJ, Valdez RB, et al. Selected measures

of health status for Mexican-American, mainland Puerto Rican,

and Cuban-American children. JAMA 265(2). 1991.

23. Guendelman S, Gould JB, Hudes M, Eskanazi B. Generational

difference in perinatal health among the Mexican-American

population: findings from HHANES 1982–84. Am J Public

Health 80, suppl:61–5. 1990.

24. Ventura SJ, Taffel SM. Childbearing characteristics of U.S. and

foreign-born Hispanic mothers. Public Health Rep 100:647–52.

1985.

25. Maurer JD, Rosenberg HM, Keemer JB. Deaths of Hispanic

origin, 15 reporting States, 1979–81. National Center for Health

Statistics. Vital and Health Statistics 20(18). 1990.

26. Markides KS, Coreil J. The health of Hispanics in the Southwestern United States: An epidemiological paradox. Public

Health Rep 101:253–65. 1986.

27. Felice ME, Shragg MA, James M, Hollingsworth DR. Clinical

observations of Mexican-American, caucasian, and black pregnant teenagers. J Adolesc Health Care 7 305–10. 1986.

28. Scribner R, Dwyer JH. Acculturation and low birthweight

among Latinos in the Hispanic HANES. Am J Public Health

79:1263–76. 1989.

29. National Center for Health Statistics: Vital statistics of the

United States, vol I, natality and vol II, mortality, part A.

Washington: Public Health Service. Published annually.

30. Shryock HS, Siegel JS, Stockwell EG. The methods and

materials of demography. Academic Press, Orlando, Florida.

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31. World Health Organization: Manual of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases, Injuries, and Causes of Death,

based on the recommendations of the Ninth Revision Conference, 1975. Geneva: World Health Organization. 1977.

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Instruction manual; part 2a. Rockville, Maryland: Public Health

Service. Published annually.

20
List of detailed tables

1. Live births and infant deaths by Hispanic origin of mother

and by race of mother for mothers of non-Hispanic origin:

20 States and the District of Columbia, 1985–87 birth

cohorts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

2. Live births and infant deaths by marital status, age, and

Hispanic origin of mother and by race of mother for

mothers of non-Hispanic origin: Total of 20 States and the

District of Columbia, 1985–87 birth cohorts . . . . . . . . . 23

3. Live births and infant deaths by place of birth, age, and

Hispanic origin of mother and by race of mother for

mothers of non-Hispanic origin: Total of 20 States and the

District of Columbia, 1985–87 birth cohorts . . . . . . . . . 24

4. Live births and infant deaths by age and educational

attainment of mother, by Hispanic origin of mother, and

by race of mother for mothers of non-Hispanic origin:

Total of 18 States and the District of Columbia, 1985–87

birth cohorts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

5. Live births and infant deaths by month of pregnancy

prenatal care began, number of prenatal visits, and Hispanic origin of mother and by race of mother for mothers

of non-Hispanic origin: Total of 20 States and the District

of Columbia, 1985–87 birth cohorts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

6. Live births and infant deaths by age of mother, livebirth order, and Hispanic origin of mother and by race

of mother for mothers of non-Hispanic origin: Total of

20 States and the District of Columbia, 1985–87 birth

cohorts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

7. Live births and infant deaths by place of birth of

mother, birthweight, and Hispanic origin of mother and

by race of mother for mothers of non-Hispanic origin:

Total of 20 States and the District of Columbia, 1985–87

birth cohorts ................................ 31

8. Live births and infant deaths by place of birth of mother,

trimester of pregnancy prenatal care began, and Hispanic

origin of mother and by race of mother for mothers of

non-Hispanic origin: Total of 20 States and the District of

Columbia, 1985–87 birth cohorts ................. 33

9. Live births and infant deaths by plurality of birth, birthweight, and Hispanic origin of mother and by race of

mother for mothers of non-Hispanic origin: Total of 20

States and the District of Columbia, 1985–87 birth cohorts

.......................................... 34

10. Live births and infant deaths by period of gestation,

birthweight, and Hispanic origin of mother and by race

of mother for mothers of non-Hispanic origin: Total of

20 States and the District of Columbia, 1985–87 birth

cohorts .................................... 36

11. Live births and infant deaths by sex, age at death, and

Hispanic origin of mother and by race of mother for

mothers of non-Hispanic origin: Total of 20 States and the

District of Columbia, 1985–87 birth cohorts ......... 39

12. Infant deaths from 61 selected causes by Hispanic origin

of mother and by race of mother for mothers of nonHispanic origin: Total of 20 States and the District of

Columbia, 1985–87 birth cohorts ................. 40

21
Table 1. Live births and infant deaths by Hispanic origin of mother and by race of mother for mothers of non-Hispanic origin: 20 States

and the District of Columbia, 1985–87 birth cohorts

State

All

origins1

Origin of mother

Hispanic Non-Hispanic

Not

Total Mexican stated

Puerto

Rican Cuban

Central

and South

American

Other and

unknown

Hispanic Total2 White Black

Live births

Arizona .................. 183,596 42,473 40,461 288 62 189 1,473 140,483 114,932 6,358 640

Arkansas ................. 104,182 602 417 41 10 30 104 102,307 77,609 23,877 1,273

California ................. 1,456,915 472,383 357,994 4,599 2,608 54,359 52,823 972,872 707,969 123,789 11,660

Colorado ................. 164,084 22,734 8,488 282 63 254 13,647 134,457 122,690 7,468 6,893

District of Columbia ........... 30,128 2,019 266 245 10 1,361 137 24,742 3,583 20,796 3,367

Florida ................... 506,561 54,901 7,635 6,763 20,762 8,590 11,151 445,892 324,351 115,877 5,768

Georgia .................. 297,030 2,973 1,085 604 240 481 563 289,439 186,283 99,644 4,618

Hawaii ................... 55,208 5,276 775 1,596 48 141 2,716 49,859 16,295 1,926 73

Illinois ................... 538,154 52,213 35,334 8,973 751 3,242 3,913 473,402 351,368 111,712 12,539

Indiana .................. 238,872 3,784 2,637 477 49 120 501 223,839 198,693 23,454 11,249

Kansas .................. 117,465 4,094 3,198 208 45 175 468 103,242 92,052 8,408 10,129

Maine ................... 50,464 290 74 31 48 25 112 47,261 46,622 149 2,913

Mississippi ................ 126,612 358 120 35 15 47 141 124,524 65,039 58,152 1,730

Nebraska ................. 73,799 1,784 1,571 28 8 38 139 68,603 63,819 3,646 3,412

New Jersey ................ 327,769 39,240 1,070 19,971 3,202 9,862 5,135 255,430 190,563 56,485 33,099

New York . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 795,615 123,807 4,006 63,524 2,056 45,157 9,064 619,747 446,460 147,205 52,061

North Dakota ............... 32,840 226 110 16 3 19 78 31,195 28,402 278 1,419

Ohio .................... 476,351 6,005 2,436 2,051 123 328 1,067 449,855 380,824 64,751 20,491

Texas ................... 917,239 289,943 265,823 2,030 715 11,430 9,945 623,874 484,780 120,646 3,422

Utah .................... 109,190 4,839 2,746 135 34 105 1,819 103,496 98,856 510 855

Wyoming ................. 25,537 1,501 859 22 3 21 596 21,429 20,336 180 2,607

Infant deaths

Arizona .................. 1,737 356 336 3 – 3 14 1,367 1,049 101 14

Arkansas ................. 1,057 3 3 – – – – 1,019 668 346 35

California ................. 13,085 3,686 2,747 51 20 407 461 9,142 5,924 2,108 257

Colorado ................. 1,510 200 64 3 2 2 129 1,236 1,070 125 74

District of Columbia . . . . . . . . . . . 573 19 5 2 – 10 2 515 33 480 39

Florida ................... 5,502 488 91 67 151 71 108 4,930 2,744 2,136 84

Georgia .................. 3,739 27 14 4 1 3 5 3,622 1,773 1,816 90

Hawaii . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 491 47 6 20 – 1 20 444 119 33 –

Illinois ................... 6,336 560 364 115 9 31 41 5,511 2,999 2,441 265

Indiana .................. 2,468 44 33 6 – – 5 2,288 1,818 456 136

Kansas .................. 1,079 39 34 – 1 – 4 924 759 138 116

Maine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 422 1 – – – 1 – 380 372 – 41

Mississippi ................ 1,639 1 – – – – 1 1,598 571 1,009 40

Nebraska . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 692 17 14 – – – 3 629 542 74 46

New Jersey ................ 2,904 324 7 170 21 81 45 2,258 1,254 958 322

New York . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8,243 1,294 36 750 24 383 101 6,231 3,324 2,750 718

North Dakota . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281 4 3 – – 1 – 263 227 1 14

Ohio .................... 4,637 44 19 16 – – 9 4,371 3,312 1,028 222

Texas ................... 8,215 2,387 2,225 14 5 67 76 5,770 3,837 1,797 58

Utah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 969 47 34 3 – – 10 907 858 3 15

Wyoming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268 22 13 – – – 9 228 213 1 18

1Origin of mother not stated included in ‘‘all origins’’ but not distributed among origin categories.

2Includes races other than white and black.

22
Table 2. Live births and infant deaths by marital status, age, and Hispanic origin of mother and by race of mother for mothers of

non-Hispanic origin: Total of 20 States and the District of Columbia, 1985–87 birth cohorts

Marital status and

age of mother

All

origins1

Origin of mother

Hispanic Non-Hispanic

Not

Total Mexican stated

Puerto

Rican Cuban

Central

and South

American

Other and

unknown

Hispanic Total2 White Black

Live births

All mothers ................ 6,627,611 1,131,445 737,105 111,919 30,855 135,974 115,592 5,305,948 4,021,526 995,311 190,218

Under 15 years ............ 18,238 3,853 2,727 493 40 163 430 14,010 3,882 9,720 375

15–19 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 811,502 180,581 125,464 22,580 1,974 10,863 19,700 611,959 372,929 220,394 18,962

20–24 years .............. 1,928,407 371,771 246,405 39,115 9,271 39,614 37,366 1,507,214 1,113,592 333,645 49,422

25–29 years .............. 2,101,236 316,859 200,841 28,251 10,947 44,260 32,560 1,723,372 1,379,112 248,161 61,005

30–34 years .............. 1,283,319 176,898 110,185 14,568 6,131 27,803 18,211 1,063,564 854,531 131,097 42,857

35–39 years .............. 423,559 68,384 42,821 5,813 2,112 11,295 6,343 339,740 263,729 45,141 15,435

40–44 years .............. 58,934 12,494 8,251 1,059 357 1,885 942 44,379 32,726 6,840 2,061

45–49 years .............. 2,416 605 411 40 23 91 40 1,710 1,025 313 101

Married .................. 5,026,042 777,157 533,726 53,497 25,996 85,926 78,012 4,097,906 3,484,135 367,649 150,979

Under 15 years ............ 1,518 734 611 29 5 30 59 764 562 116 20

15–19 years .............. 317,909 83,292 65,349 5,544 1,197 4,200 7,002 227,208 199,315 20,210 7,409

20–24 years .............. 1,360,205 248,383 175,291 18,180 7,663 22,881 24,368 1,075,793 922,256 108,167 36,029

25–29 years .............. 1,789,846 241,766 159,957 16,474 9,618 30,010 25,707 1,494,768 1,279,394 128,213 53,312

30–34 years .............. 1,136,252 139,654 90,642 9,110 5,410 19,484 15,008 957,893 807,030 78,305 38,705

35–39 years .............. 368,725 53,223 34,864 3,537 1,792 7,928 5,102 301,831 245,189 28,081 13,671

40–44 years .............. 49,595 9,637 6,673 601 293 1,335 735 38,205 29,498 4,354 1,753

45–49 years .............. 1,992 468 339 22 18 58 31 1,444 891 203 80

Unmarried ................. 1,601,569 354,288 203,379 58,422 4,859 50,048 37,580 1,208,042 537,391 627,662 39,239

Under 15 years ............ 16,720 3,119 2,116 464 35 133 371 13,246 3,320 9,604 355

15–19 years .............. 493,593 97,289 60,115 17,036 777 6,663 12,698 384,751 173,614 200,184 11,553

20–24 years .............. 568,202 123,388 71,114 20,935 1,608 16,733 12,998 431,421 191,336 225,478 13,393

25–29 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311,390 75,093 40,884 11,777 1,329 14,250 6,853 228,604 99,718 119,948 7,693

30–34 years .............. 147,067 37,244 19,543 5,458 721 8,319 3,203 105,671 47,501 52,792 4,152

35–39 years .............. 54,834 15,161 7,957 2,276 320 3,367 1,241 37,909 18,540 17,060 1,764

40–44 years .............. 9,339 2,857 1,578 458 64 550 207 6,174 3,228 2,486 308

45–49 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 424 137 72 18 5 33 9 266 134 110 21

Infant deaths

All mothers ................ 65,847 9,610 6,048 1,224 234 1,061 1,043 53,633 33,466 17,801 2,604

Under 15 years . . . . . . . . . . . . 399 65 44 10 – 2 9 326 77 245 8

15–19 years .............. 11,547 1,890 1,238 295 23 112 222 9,279 4,919 4,109 378

20–24 years .............. 20,439 3,075 1,917 410 84 309 355 16,628 10,171 5,912 736

25–29 years .............. 17,919 2,346 1,457 277 63 310 239 14,822 9,879 4,234 751

30–34 years .............. 10,720 1,418 881 138 43 207 149 8,808 5,932 2,327 494

35–39 years .............. 4,031 645 388 77 19 101 60 3,178 2,114 823 208

40–44 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 744 158 113 15 2 19 9 558 356 139 28

45–49 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 13 10 2 – 1 – 34 18 12 1

Married .................. 40,919 5,892 4,042 459 173 613 605 33,355 26,099 5,453 1,672

Under 15 years . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 13 10 – – – 3 15 9 5 –

15–19 years .............. 3,743 762 579 57 12 43 71 2,855 2,396 375 126

20–24 years .............. 11,863 1,869 1,290 156 58 166 199 9,555 7,580 1,615 439

25–29 years .............. 13,052 1,621 1,080 123 52 185 181 10,890 8,547 1,752 541

30–34 years .............. 8,416 1,048 695 76 37 130 110 6,981 5,340 1,153 387

35–39 years .............. 3,199 459 296 40 12 77 34 2,585 1,902 464 155

40–44 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 581 109 83 6 2 11 7 448 311 81 24

45–49 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 11 9 1 – 1 – 26 14 8 –

Unmarried ................. 24,928 3,718 2,006 765 61 448 438 20,278 7,367 12,348 932

Under 15 years . . . . . . . . . . . . 371 52 34 10 – 2 6 311 68 240 8

15–19 years .............. 7,804 1,128 659 238 11 69 151 6,424 2,523 3,734 252

20–24 years .............. 8,576 1,206 627 254 26 143 156 7,073 2,591 4,297 297

25–29 years .............. 4,867 725 377 154 11 125 58 3,932 1,332 2,482 210

30–34 years .............. 2,304 370 186 62 6 77 39 1,827 592 1,174 107

35–39 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 832 186 92 37 7 24 26 593 212 359 53

40–44 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163 49 30 9 – 8 2 110 45 58 4

45–49 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 2 1 1 – – – 8 4 4 1

1Origin of mother not stated included in ‘‘all origins’’ but not distributed among origin categories.

2Includes races other than white and black.

23
Table 3. Live births and infant deaths by place of birth, age, and Hispanic origin of mother and by race of mother for mothers of

non-Hispanic origin: Total of 20 States and the District of Columbia, 1985–87 birth cohorts

Place of birth of mother and

age of mother

All

origins1

Origin of mother

Hispanic Non-Hispanic

Not

Total Mexican stated

Puerto

Rican Cuban

Central

and South

American

Other and

unknown

Hispanic Total2 White Black

Live births

All places of birth ............... 6,627,611 1,131,445 737,105 111,919 30,855 135,974 115,592 5,305,948 4,021,526 995,311 190,218

Under 15 years ............... 18,238 3,853 2,727 493 40 163 430 14,010 3,882 9,720 375

15–19 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 811,502 180,581 125,464 22,580 1,974 10,863 19,700 611,959 372,929 220,394 18,962

20–24 years ................. 1,928,407 371,771 246,405 39,115 9,271 39,614 37,366 1,507,214 1,113,592 333,645 49,422

25–29 years ................. 2,101,236 316,859 200,841 28,251 10,947 44,260 32,560 1,723,372 1,379,112 248,161 61,005

30–34 years ................. 1,283,319 176,898 110,185 14,568 6,131 27,803 18,211 1,063,564 854,531 131,097 42,857

35–39 years ................. 423,559 68,384 42,821 5,813 2,112 11,295 6,343 339,740 263,729 45,141 15,435

40–44 years ................. 58,934 12,494 8,251 1,059 357 1,885 942 44,379 32,726 6,840 2,061

45–49 years ................. 2,416 605 411 40 23 91 40 1,710 1,025 313 101

Mother born in the 50 States and

the District of Columbia ........... 5,475,452 489,779 330,235 57,752 3,915 3,400 94,477 4,815,154 3,824,440 909,826 170,519

Under 15 years ............... 16,816 2,856 2,027 369 21 30 409 13,617 3,810 9,574 343

15–19 years ................. 714,959 107,751 73,020 14,883 727 837 18,284 589,451 364,106 214,315 17,757

20–24 years ................. 1,621,054 168,508 112,728 21,386 1,642 1,141 31,611 1,407,325 1,070,351 313,453 45,221

25–29 years ................. 1,731,810 125,122 83,417 14,178 1,029 832 25,666 1,552,090 1,310,001 219,629 54,598

30–34 years ................. 1,030,561 62,079 42,086 5,672 383 412 13,526 930,676 803,606 110,426 37,806

35–39 years ................. 318,820 20,303 14,553 1,173 103 132 4,342 285,490 242,400 36,929 13,027

40–44 years ................. 40,079 3,040 2,313 86 10 16 615 35,354 29,274 5,267 1,685

45–49 years ................. 1,353 120 91 5 – – 24 1,151 892 233 82

Mother born outside the 50 States and

the District of Columbia ........... 1,140,509 640,392 406,158 53,961 26,930 132,531 20,812 482,588 192,252 82,345 17,529

Under 15 years ............... 1,315 988 692 124 19 133 20 311 50 86 16

15–19 years ................. 93,974 72,553 52,279 7,650 1,246 10,022 1,356 20,656 7,841 5,236 765

20–24 years ................. 303,462 202,793 133,430 17,631 7,624 38,461 5,647 97,128 41,645 19,087 3,541

25–29 years ................. 366,591 191,443 117,253 14,038 9,915 43,412 6,825 169,277 67,870 27,849 5,871

30–34 years ................. 251,213 114,672 68,014 8,881 5,747 27,385 4,645 131,848 50,244 20,344 4,693

35–39 years ................. 104,149 48,013 28,235 4,632 2,009 11,159 1,978 53,864 21,071 8,110 2,272

40–44 years ................. 18,755 9,446 5,936 970 347 1,868 325 8,953 3,403 1,554 356

45–49 years ................. 1,050 484 319 35 23 91 16 551 128 79 15

Not stated .................... 11,650 1,274 712 206 10 43 303 8,206 4,834 3,140 2,170

Under 15 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107 9 8 – – – 1 82 22 60 16

15–19 years ................. 2,569 277 165 47 1 4 60 1,852 982 843 440

20–24 years ................. 3,891 470 247 98 5 12 108 2,761 1,596 1,105 660

25–29 years ................. 2,835 294 171 35 3 16 69 2,005 1,241 683 536

30–34 years ................. 1,545 147 85 15 1 6 40 1,040 681 327 358

35–39 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 590 68 33 8 – 4 23 386 258 102 136

40–44 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 8 2 3 – 1 2 72 49 19 20

45–49 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 1 1 – – – – 8 5 1 4

Infant deaths

All places of birth ............... 65,847 9,610 6,048 1,224 234 1,061 1,043 53,633 33,466 17,801 2,604

Under 15 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 399 65 44 10 – 2 9 326 77 245 8

15–19 years ................. 11,547 1,890 1,238 295 23 112 222 9,279 4,919 4,109 378

20–24 years ................. 20,439 3,075 1,917 410 84 309 355 16,628 10,171 5,912 736

25–29 years ................. 17,919 2,346 1,457 277 63 310 239 14,822 9,879 4,234 751

30–34 years ................. 10,720 1,418 881 138 43 207 149 8,808 5,932 2,327 494

35–39 years ................. 4,031 645 388 77 19 101 60 3,178 2,114 823 208

40–44 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 744 158 113 15 2 19 9 558 356 139 28

45–49 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 13 10 2 – 1 – 34 18 12 1

Mother born in the 50 States and

the District of Columbia ........... 55,424 4,470 2,885 649 46 25 865 48,884 31,641 16,394 2,070

Under 15 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 362 41 25 7 – 1 8 315 75 237 6

15–19 years ................. 10,378 1,166 752 193 12 6 203 8,891 4,770 3,965 321

20–24 years ................. 17,737 1,547 965 233 27 10 312 15,584 9,746 5,584 606

25–29 years ................. 14,856 977 630 148 3 6 190 13,303 9,275 3,796 576

30–34 years ................. 8,558 511 340 53 – 2 116 7,659 5,521 2,001 388

35–39 years ................. 3,009 198 148 12 4 – 34 2,660 1,919 688 151

40–44 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 500 27 23 2 – – 2 452 321 117 21

45–49 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 3 2 1 – – – 20 14 6 1

24
Table 3. Live births and infant deaths by place of birth, age, and Hispanic origin of mother and by race of mother for mothers of

non-Hispanic origin: Total of 20 States and the District of Columbia, 1985–87 birth cohorts—Con.

Place of birth of mother and

age of mother

All

origins1

Origin of mother

Hispanic Non-Hispanic

Not

Total Mexican stated

Puerto

Rican Cuban

Central

and South

American

Other and

unknown

Hispanic Total2 White Black

Infant deaths

Mother born outside the 50 States and

the District of Columbia ........... 9,381 5,076 3,132 565 188 1,035 156 4,086 1,471 1,113 219

Under 15 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 24 19 3 1 1 2 1

15–19 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 978 708 481 98 11 106 12 261 82 86 9

20–24 years ................. 2,401 1,508 941 174 57 299 37 846 314 244 47

25–29 years ................. 2,790 1,352 816 128 60 304 44 1,359 523 362 79

30–34 years ................. 1,981 903 539 84 43 205 32 1,032 344 279 46

35–39 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 948 442 239 65 15 100 23 473 171 117 33

40–44 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236 129 89 12 2 19 7 102 34 19 5

45–49 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 10 8 1 – 1 – 11 2 6 –

Not stated .................... 1,042 64 31 10 – 1 22 663 354 294 315

Under 15 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 – – – – – – 9 1 8 2

15–19 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191 16 5 4 – – 7 127 67 58 48

20–24 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301 20 11 3 – – 6 198 111 84 83

25–29 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273 17 11 1 – – 5 160 81 76 96

30–34 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181 4 2 1 – – 1 117 67 47 60

35–39 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74 5 1 – – 1 3 45 24 18 24

40–44 years ................. 8 2 1 1 – – – 4 1 3 2

45–49 years ................. 3 – – – – – – 3 2 – –

1Origin of mother not stated included in ‘‘all origins’’ but not distributed among origin categories.

2Includes races other than white and black.

25
Table 4. Live births and infant deaths by age and educational attainment of mother, by Hispanic origin of mother, and by race of mother

for mothers of non-Hispanic origin: Total of 18 States and the District of Columbia, 1985–87 birth cohorts

Age and years of school

completed by mother

All

origins1

Origin of mother

Hispanic Non-Hispanic

Not

Total Mexican stated

Puerto

Rican Cuban

Central

and South

American

Other and

unknown

Hispanic Total2 White Black

Live births

All ages .................. 4,253,457 369,119 113,288 105,290 27,532 70,185 52,824 3,709,202 2,828,777 750,876 175,136

0–8 years ............... 164,995 64,357 36,436 10,198 1,657 11,870 4,196 97,188 56,509 32,413 3,450

9–11 years ............... 714,453 95,737 29,355 36,321 3,672 12,616 13,773 596,915 368,476 210,680 21,801

12 years ................ 1,737,404 127,735 31,271 37,289 9,981 28,168 21,026 1,543,641 1,183,746 314,426 66,028

13–15 years .............. 872,570 51,286 11,177 13,929 7,605 10,372 8,203 789,456 633,458 132,467 31,828

16 years and over .......... 710,906 23,683 3,564 5,187 4,463 5,800 4,669 650,207 567,963 50,638 37,016

Not stated ............... 53,129 6,321 1,485 2,366 154 1,359 957 31,795 18,625 10,252 15,013

Under 20 years ............. 531,912 57,534 20,241 22,144 1,818 4,763 8,568 456,695 267,741 178,217 17,683

0–8 years ............... 49,183 10,941 5,642 3,119 245 941 994 37,108 20,414 15,656 1,134

9–11 years ............... 281,812 31,156 9,912 13,266 962 2,054 4,962 242,175 138,192 98,697 8,481

12 years ................ 174,425 12,972 3,959 4,779 529 1,453 2,252 155,499 96,632 55,210 5,954

13–15 years .............. 18,535 1,398 420 516 68 198 196 16,500 9,801 6,208 637

16 years and over . . . . . . . . . . 202 35 9 13 2 8 3 156 88 58 11

Not stated ............... 7,755 1,032 299 451 12 109 161 5,257 2,614 2,388 1,466

20–34 years ............... 3,418,539 284,241 85,861 76,642 23,480 57,748 40,510 2,993,003 2,356,244 531,886 141,295

0–8 years ............... 100,737 46,393 27,287 6,061 1,140 9,224 2,681 52,332 32,599 13,752 2,012

9–11 years ............... 412,433 60,695 18,554 21,763 2,547 9,542 8,289 339,028 221,923 105,524 12,710

12 years ................ 1,473,447 105,598 25,749 30,039 8,682 23,718 17,410 1,311,528 1,029,440 243,879 56,321

13–15 years .............. 790,971 46,287 10,041 12,578 7,055 9,254 7,359 716,005 577,152 118,138 28,679

16 years and over .......... 601,530 20,565 3,155 4,505 3,943 4,926 4,036 550,502 480,973 43,445 30,463

Not stated ............... 39,421 4,703 1,075 1,696 113 1,084 735 23,608 14,157 7,148 11,110

35 years and over ............ 303,006 27,344 7,186 6,504 2,234 7,674 3,746 259,504 204,792 40,773 16,158

0–8 years ............... 15,075 7,023 3,507 1,018 272 1,705 521 7,748 3,496 3,005 304

9–11 years ............... 20,208 3,886 889 1,292 163 1,020 522 15,712 8,361 6,459 610

12 years ................ 89,532 9,165 1,563 2,471 770 2,997 1,364 76,614 57,674 15,337 3,753

13–15 years .............. 63,064 3,601 716 835 482 920 648 56,951 46,505 8,121 2,512

16 years and over .......... 109,174 3,083 400 669 518 866 630 99,549 86,902 7,135 6,542

Not stated ............... 5,953 586 111 219 29 166 61 2,930 1,854 716 2,437

Infant deaths

All ages .................. 44,547 3,537 1,076 1,159 209 587 506 38,721 23,705 13,896 2,289

0–8 years ............... 2,300 672 370 118 21 114 49 1,575 799 698 53

9–11 years ............... 10,857 1,073 302 461 39 115 156 9,442 4,868 4,354 342

12 years ................ 17,683 1,103 264 384 70 220 165 15,816 9,856 5,556 764

13–15 years .............. 7,130 393 82 109 55 80 67 6,413 4,194 2,032 324

16 years and over .......... 4,682 127 19 24 20 38 26 4,284 3,413 688 271

Not stated ............... 1,895 169 39 63 4 20 43 1,191 575 568 535

Under 20 years ............. 8,321 723 241 297 23 54 108 7,247 3,645 3,453 351

0–8 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 908 151 67 47 4 16 17 741 362 363 16

9–11 years ............... 4,631 389 125 174 18 16 56 4,084 2,070 1,937 158

12 years ................ 2,248 135 37 56 1 16 25 2,021 1,033 945 92

13–15 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196 11 3 5 – 3 – 174 91 78 11

16 years and over .......... 2 – – – – – – 2 2 – –

Not stated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 336 37 9 15 – 3 10 225 87 130 74

20–34 years ............... 33,064 2,497 754 770 168 457 348 28,834 18,326 9,662 1,733

0–8 years ............... 1,179 427 256 52 15 80 24 723 399 275 29

9–11 years ............... 5,904 634 169 261 19 93 92 5,098 2,695 2,270 172

12 years ................ 14,426 868 213 296 61 174 124 12,944 8,293 4,323 614

13–15 years .............. 6,349 345 75 94 51 68 57 5,721 3,736 1,820 283

16 years and over .......... 3,822 106 16 22 19 30 19 3,494 2,784 571 222

Not stated ............... 1,384 117 25 45 3 12 32 854 419 403 413

35 years and over ............ 3,162 317 81 92 18 76 50 2,640 1,734 781 205

0–8 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213 94 47 19 2 18 8 111 38 60 8

9–11 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322 50 8 26 2 6 8 260 103 147 12

12 years ................ 1,009 100 14 32 8 30 16 851 530 288 58

13–15 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 585 37 4 10 4 9 10 518 367 134 30

16 years and over . . . . . . . . . . 858 21 3 2 1 8 7 788 627 117 49

Not stated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175 15 5 3 1 5 1 112 69 35 48

1Origin of mother not stated included in ‘‘all origins’’ but not distributed among origin categories.

2Includes races other than white and black.

26
Table 5. Live births and infant deaths by month of pregnancy prenatal care began, number of prenatal visits, and Hispanic origin of mother

and by race of mother for mothers of non-Hispanic origin: Total of 20 States and the District of Columbia, 1985–87 birth cohorts

Trimester prenatal care began and

number of visits

All

origins1

Origin of mother

Hispanic Non-Hispanic

Not

Total Mexican stated

Puerto

Rican Cuban

Central

and South

American

Other and

unknown

Hispanic Total2 White Black

Live births

Total .................... 6,627,611 1,131,445 737,105 111,919 30,855 135,974 115,592 5,305,948 4,021,526 995,311 190,218

No visits ................. 151,752 54,711 34,218 9,921 450 7,610 2,512 93,137 43,946 44,195 3,904

1–4 visits ................ 281,040 68,197 46,704 9,446 815 6,572 4,660 203,209 104,378 88,088 9,634

5–8 visits ................ 888,600 159,947 95,394 27,017 4,457 20,137 12,942 698,038 460,104 204,997 30,615

9–12 visits ............... 2,384,917 250,162 134,524 41,111 13,207 31,949 29,371 2,053,655 1,648,088 340,472 81,100

13–16 visits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,114,192 90,107 49,654 12,243 7,113 11,370 9,727 986,655 838,186 121,345 37,430

17 visits or more ............ 229,421 21,049 11,865 2,572 1,867 2,453 2,292 201,951 163,013 34,230 6,421

Not stated ................ 1,577,689 487,272 364,746 9,609 2,946 55,883 54,088 1,069,303 763,811 161,984 21,114

No prenatal care ............. 151,752 54,711 34,218 9,921 450 7,610 2,512 93,137 43,946 44,195 3,904

First trimester ............... 4,836,464 671,163 427,997 61,827 25,260 78,424 77,655 4,025,727 3,243,716 576,527 139,574

1–4 visits ................ 61,596 14,921 10,827 1,902 167 1,198 827 43,885 22,835 19,016 2,790

5–8 visits ................ 433,255 67,706 38,363 12,648 3,061 8,310 5,324 349,032 246,615 86,679 16,517

9–12 visits ............... 1,973,315 183,931 98,352 30,151 10,967 22,143 22,318 1,720,070 1,422,258 245,529 69,314

13–16 visits ............... 1,032,157 78,288 42,563 10,482 6,899 9,655 8,689 918,749 790,514 103,356 35,120

17 visits or more ............ 210,400 18,315 9,992 2,284 1,832 2,144 2,063 186,115 152,942 28,824 5,970

Not stated ................ 1,125,741 308,002 227,900 4,360 2,334 34,974 38,434 807,876 608,552 93,123 9,863

Second trimester ............. 1,210,808 289,615 195,395 27,512 4,105 36,092 26,511 891,965 562,862 274,428 29,228

1–4 visits ................ 98,418 22,480 14,957 3,446 332 2,044 1,701 72,886 34,706 34,659 3,052

5–8 visits ................ 359,891 70,067 43,242 11,192 1,083 8,698 5,852 278,636 169,639 95,582 11,188

9–12 visits ............... 379,309 60,350 33,124 9,777 2,148 8,704 6,597 308,508 208,603 88,320 10,451

13–16 visits ............... 75,253 10,911 6,632 1,562 194 1,555 968 62,407 43,537 16,851 1,935

17 visits or more ............ 17,325 2,518 1,754 247 33 276 208 14,450 9,098 5,031 357

Not stated ................ 280,612 123,289 95,686 1,288 315 14,815 11,185 155,078 97,279 33,985 2,245

Third trimester .............. 288,689 84,137 59,267 7,868 751 9,943 6,308 197,238 116,382 66,050 7,314

1–4 visits ................ 114,844 29,361 20,099 3,790 310 3,172 1,990 82,039 44,776 32,367 3,444

5–8 visits ................ 88,138 20,704 13,089 2,813 294 2,840 1,668 64,964 40,624 20,964 2,470

9–12 visits ............... 21,922 4,477 2,583 786 70 688 350 16,793 11,030 4,997 652

13–16 visits ............... 3,059 554 305 101 11 91 46 2,389 1,636 650 116

17 visits or more . . . . . . . . . . . . 758 130 81 21 – 19 9 599 361 220 29

Not stated ................ 59,968 28,911 23,110 357 66 3,133 2,245 30,454 17,955 6,852 603

Not stated ................. 139,898 31,819 20,228 4,791 289 3,905 2,606 97,881 54,620 34,111 10,198

1–4 visits ................ 6,182 1,435 821 308 6 158 142 4,399 2,061 2,046 348

5–8 visits ................ 7,316 1,470 700 364 19 289 98 5,406 3,226 1,772 440

9–12 visits ............... 10,371 1,404 465 397 22 414 106 8,284 6,197 1,626 683

13–16 visits ............... 3,723 354 154 98 9 69 24 3,110 2,499 488 259

17 visits or more . . . . . . . . . . . . 938 86 38 20 2 14 12 787 612 155 65

Not stated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111,368 27,070 18,050 3,604 231 2,961 2,224 75,895 40,025 28,024 8,403

Infant deaths

Total .................... 65,847 9,610 6,048 1,224 234 1,061 1,043 53,633 33,466 17,801 2,604

No visits ................. 5,309 1,086 631 248 10 120 77 4,018 1,582 2,317 205

1–4 visits ................ 10,312 1,297 769 241 41 140 106 8,587 4,297 4,050 428

5–8 visits ................ 13,848 1,515 865 283 54 159 154 11,735 7,420 3,949 598

9–12 visits ............... 13,541 1,278 673 228 61 155 161 11,745 8,394 3,004 518

13–16 visits ............... 4,948 374 211 47 31 47 38 4,433 3,406 912 141

17 visits or more ............ 1,518 131 77 13 7 16 18 1,327 1,026 282 60

Not stated ................ 16,371 3,929 2,822 164 30 424 489 11,788 7,341 3,287 654

No prenatal care ............. 5,309 1,086 631 248 10 120 77 4,018 1,582 2,317 205

First trimester ............... 41,240 5,240 3,331 561 167 582 599 34,545 23,795 9,241 1,455

1–4 visits ................ 5,236 553 328 100 28 58 39 4,437 2,333 2,006 246

5–8 visits ................ 9,728 915 510 177 40 97 91 8,359 5,567 2,554 454

9–12 visits ............... 10,952 971 514 179 46 116 116 9,536 7,094 2,180 445

13–16 visits ............... 4,457 306 165 40 29 40 32 4,019 3,145 766 132

17 visits or more ............ 1,383 115 63 13 7 15 17 1,214 952 243 54

Not stated ................ 9,484 2,380 1,751 52 17 256 304 6,980 4,704 1,492 124

27
Table 5. Live births and infant deaths by month of pregnancy prenatal care began, number of prenatal visits, and Hispanic origin of mother

and by race of mother for mothers of non-Hispanic origin: Total of 20 States and the District of Columbia, 1985–87 birth cohorts—Con.

Trimester prenatal care began and

number of visits

All

origins1

Origin of mother

Hispanic Non-Hispanic

Not

Total Mexican stated

Puerto

Rican Cuban

Central

and South

American

Other and

unknown

Hispanic Total2 White Black

Infant deaths

Second trimester ............. 12,669 2,189 1,422 240 39 246 242 10,138 5,455 4,192 342

1–4 visits ................ 3,637 500 299 95 10 48 48 3,010 1,405 1,509 127

5–8 visits ................ 3,352 471 274 85 10 49 53 2,766 1,504 1,155 115

9–12 visits ............... 2,370 277 150 40 13 36 38 2,037 1,195 764 56

13–16 visits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 451 59 41 5 2 7 4 385 242 136 7

17 visits or more . . . . . . . . . . . . 124 15 13 – – 1 1 104 67 37 5

Not stated ................ 2,735 867 645 15 4 105 98 1,836 1,042 591 32

Third trimester .............. 2,472 514 337 69 8 53 47 1,889 1,033 765 69

1–4 visits ................ 1,197 212 131 39 3 24 15 947 475 431 38

5–8 visits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 628 115 73 18 4 10 10 499 287 195 14

9–12 visits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122 20 9 6 1 1 3 96 58 37 6

13–16 visits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 6 2 2 – – 2 12 7 5 –

17 visits or more ............ 5 1 1 – – – – 3 2 1 1

Not stated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 502 160 121 4 – 18 17 332 204 96 10

Not stated ................. 4,157 581 327 106 10 60 78 3,043 1,601 1,286 533

1–4 visits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242 32 11 7 – 10 4 193 84 104 17

5–8 visits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140 14 8 3 – 3 – 111 62 45 15

9–12 visits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97 10 – 3 1 2 4 76 47 23 11

13–16 visits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 3 3 – – – – 17 12 5 2

17 visits or more ............ 6 – – – – – – 6 5 1 –

Not stated ................ 3,650 522 305 93 9 45 70 2,640 1,391 1,108 488

1Origin of mother not stated included in ‘‘all origins’’ but not distributed among origin categories.

2Includes races other than white and black.

28
Table 6. Live births and infant deaths by age of mother, live-birth order, and Hispanic origin of mother and by race of mother for mothers

of non-Hispanic origin: Total of 20 States and the District of Columbia, 1985–87 birth cohorts

Age of mother and

live-birth order

All

origins1

Origin of mother

Hispanic Non-Hispanic

Not

Total Mexican stated

Puerto

Rican Cuban

Central

and South

American

Other and

unknown

Hispanic Total2 White Black

Live births

All ages .................. 6,627,611 1,131,445 737,105 111,919 30,855 135,974 115,592 5,305,948 4,021,526 995,311 190,218

First child ................ 2,723,291 414,666 252,609 46,014 13,814 54,598 47,631 2,228,536 1,720,991 387,915 80,089

Second child .............. 2,146,368 331,532 209,792 33,327 10,962 42,146 35,305 1,754,718 1,371,172 292,837 60,118

Third child ............... 1,052,457 205,272 138,965 18,820 4,328 23,601 19,558 819,745 607,443 170,392 27,440

Fourth child .............. 402,052 97,005 70,651 7,906 1,153 9,421 7,874 295,508 198,939 78,788 9,539

Fifth child ................ 151,684 42,318 32,387 3,073 355 3,554 2,949 105,831 63,525 33,910 3,535

Sixth child or more .......... 125,348 38,470 31,590 2,282 208 2,365 2,025 83,809 45,230 28,805 3,069

Not stated ............... 26,411 2,182 1,111 497 35 289 250 17,801 14,226 2,664 6,428

Under 20 years ............. 829,740 184,434 128,191 23,073 2,014 11,026 20,130 625,969 376,811 230,114 19,337

First child ................ 635,738 137,045 93,894 17,164 1,654 8,909 15,424 484,016 305,307 164,213 14,677

Second child .............. 155,774 38,252 27,676 4,607 304 1,827 3,838 114,383 60,743 50,145 3,139

Third child ............... 29,112 7,556 5,560 992 42 246 716 21,024 7,927 12,300 532

Fourth child .............. 4,319 1,070 800 143 9 18 100 3,175 817 2,199 74

Fifth child . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 553 115 84 20 1 3 7 428 82 325 10

Sixth child or more . . . . . . . . . . 96 18 12 5 – – 1 77 19 54 1

Not stated ............... 4,148 378 165 142 4 23 44 2,866 1,916 878 904

20–34 years ............... 5,312,962 865,528 557,431 81,934 26,349 111,677 88,137 4,294,150 3,347,235 712,903 153,284

First child ................ 1,994,724 268,661 154,866 27,798 11,652 43,304 31,041 1,665,473 1,351,180 216,796 60,590

Second child .............. 1,858,936 278,913 175,253 27,181 9,749 36,989 29,741 1,527,819 1,220,202 231,264 52,204

Third child ............... 915,336 180,133 123,171 16,197 3,665 20,022 17,078 711,729 531,604 146,564 23,474

Fourth child .............. 333,725 81,541 60,178 6,576 875 7,353 6,559 244,496 162,194 68,230 7,688

Fifth child ................ 116,247 32,489 25,095 2,393 245 2,485 2,271 81,097 46,558 28,242 2,661

Sixth child or more .......... 73,733 22,159 18,016 1,464 133 1,289 1,257 49,820 24,150 20,171 1,754

Not stated ............... 20,261 1,632 852 325 30 235 190 13,716 11,347 1,636 4,913

35 years or more ............ 484,909 81,483 51,483 6,912 2,492 13,271 7,325 385,829 297,480 52,294 17,597

First child ................ 92,829 8,960 3,849 1,052 508 2,385 1,166 79,047 64,504 6,906 4,822

Second child .............. 131,658 14,367 6,863 1,539 909 3,330 1,726 112,516 90,227 11,428 4,775

Third child ............... 108,009 17,583 10,234 1,631 621 3,333 1,764 86,992 67,912 11,528 3,434

Fourth child .............. 64,008 14,394 9,673 1,187 269 2,050 1,215 47,837 35,928 8,359 1,777

Fifth child ................ 34,884 9,714 7,208 660 109 1,066 671 24,306 16,885 5,343 864

Sixth child or more .......... 51,519 16,293 13,562 813 75 1,076 767 33,912 21,061 8,580 1,314

Not stated ............... 2,002 172 94 30 1 31 16 1,219 963 150 611

Infant deaths

All ages .................. 65,847 9,610 6,048 1,224 234 1,061 1,043 53,633 33,466 17,801 2,604

First child ................ 25,379 3,468 2,050 492 100 411 415 20,893 13,573 6,430 1,018

Second child .............. 20,124 2,665 1,598 347 73 342 305 16,726 10,959 5,062 733

Third child ............... 10,837 1,696 1,089 203 40 174 190 8,833 5,345 3,091 308

Fourth child .............. 4,894 882 637 91 16 68 70 3,873 2,045 1,665 139

Fifth child ................ 1,998 397 286 41 4 32 34 1,549 731 741 52

Sixth child or more .......... 1,833 434 345 38 1 29 21 1,352 570 673 47

Not stated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 782 68 43 12 – 5 8 407 243 139 307

Under 20 years ............. 11,946 1,955 1,282 305 23 114 231 9,605 4,996 4,354 386

First child ................ 7,895 1,309 852 192 20 90 155 6,333 3,511 2,652 253

Second child .............. 3,067 494 332 80 2 21 59 2,491 1,211 1,216 82

Third child . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 724 117 77 25 – 2 13 590 208 365 17

Fourth child . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125 20 15 3 1 – 1 104 23 79 1

Fifth child . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 2 1 1 – – – 19 2 17 1

Sixth child or more .......... 3 – – – – – – 3 1 2 –

Not stated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110 13 5 4 – 1 3 65 40 23 32

20–34 years ............... 49,078 6,839 4,255 825 190 826 743 40,258 25,982 12,473 1,981

First child ................ 16,488 2,057 1,146 287 77 301 246 13,727 9,484 3,590 704

Second child .............. 15,909 2,035 1,203 245 62 292 233 13,277 9,047 3,667 597

Third child ............... 9,147 1,411 916 155 36 145 159 7,485 4,616 2,540 251

Fourth child .............. 4,127 724 537 69 11 48 59 3,288 1,720 1,444 115

Fifth child ................ 1,613 299 218 34 3 19 25 1,273 584 636 41

Sixth child or more .......... 1,200 261 199 28 1 17 16 909 347 498 30

Not stated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 594 52 36 7 – 4 5 299 184 98 243

29
Table 6. Live births and infant deaths by age of mother, live-birth order, and Hispanic origin of mother and by race of mother for mothers

of non-Hispanic origin: Total of 20 States and the District of Columbia, 1985–87 birth cohorts—Con.

Age of mother and

live-birth order

All

origins1

Origin of mother

Hispanic Non-Hispanic

Not

Total Mexican stated

Puerto

Rican Cuban

Central

and South

American

Other and

unknown

Hispanic Total2 White Black

Infant deaths

35 years or more ............ 4,823 816 511 94 21 121 69 3,770 2,488 974 237

First child . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 996 102 52 13 3 20 14 833 578 188 61

Second child .............. 1,148 136 63 22 9 29 13 958 701 179 54

Third child . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 966 168 96 23 4 27 18 758 521 186 40

Fourth child . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 642 138 85 19 4 20 10 481 302 142 23

Fifth child . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 363 96 67 6 1 13 9 257 145 88 10

Sixth child or more . . . . . . . . . . 630 173 146 10 – 12 5 440 222 173 17

Not stated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78 3 2 1 – – – 43 19 18 32

1Origin of mother not stated included in ‘‘all origins’’ but not distributed among origin categories.

2Includes races other than white and black.

30
Table 7. Live births and infant deaths by place of birth of mother, birthweight , and Hispanic origin of mother and by race of mother for

mothers of non-Hispanic origin: Total of 20 States and the District of Columbia, 1985–87 birth cohorts

Place of birth of mother and

birthweight

All

origins1

Origin of mother

Hispanic Non-Hispanic

Not

Total Mexican stated

Puerto

Rican Cuban

Central

and South

American

Other and

unknown

Hispanic Total2 White Black

Live births

All places of birth ............... 6,627,611 1,131,445 737,105 111,919 30,855 135,974 115,592 5,305,948 4,021,526 995,311 190,218

Less than 500 grams ........... 8,202 984 618 111 34 115 106 6,795 3,483 3,066 423

500–999 grams ............... 31,331 4,469 2,679 655 121 557 457 25,561 13,606 11,063 1,301

1,000–1,499 grams ............. 41,261 6,268 3,807 886 172 724 679 33,457 19,309 12,806 1,536

1,500–1,999 grams ............. 86,767 13,209 8,055 1,948 334 1,418 1,454 70,631 42,482 24,949 2,927

2,000–2,499 grams ............. 286,999 44,465 26,963 6,569 1,111 4,934 4,888 234,146 145,577 76,084 8,388

2,500–2,999 grams ............. 1,073,493 183,449 113,719 23,595 4,364 21,791 19,980 860,600 562,611 239,316 29,444

3,000–3,499 grams ............. 2,454,690 439,793 284,913 44,088 11,784 54,000 45,008 1,945,888 1,445,146 379,845 69,009

3,500–3,999 grams ............. 1,930,060 326,917 219,183 26,597 9,511 39,527 32,099 1,547,560 1,280,102 196,451 55,583

4,000–4,499 grams ............. 587,655 92,002 63,101 6,212 2,864 10,742 9,083 478,355 419,009 42,424 17,298

4,500–4,999 grams ............. 106,180 16,321 11,560 990 471 1,783 1,517 86,687 77,163 6,747 3,172

5,000 grams or more ........... 14,030 2,430 1,804 123 67 220 216 11,209 9,733 1,062 391

Not stated .................. 6,943 1,138 703 145 22 163 105 5,059 3,305 1,498 746

Mother born in the 50 States and

the District of Columbia ........... 5,475,452 489,779 330,235 57,752 3,915 3,400 94,477 4,815,154 3,824,440 909,826 170,519

Less than 500 grams ........... 6,885 462 323 49 8 – 82 6,127 3,251 2,792 296

500–999 grams ............... 26,308 2,027 1,285 332 18 14 378 23,205 12,751 10,144 1,076

1,000–1,499 grams ............. 34,977 2,949 1,873 486 25 21 544 30,687 18,320 11,960 1,341

1,500–1,999 grams ............. 74,019 6,537 4,161 1,062 59 52 1,203 64,853 40,446 23,460 2,629

2,000–2,499 grams ............. 243,335 22,136 14,165 3,518 167 143 4,143 213,700 138,772 71,542 7,499

2,500–2,999 grams ............. 883,469 86,422 56,233 12,452 628 594 16,515 771,015 534,271 222,380 26,032

3,000–3,499 grams ............. 2,003,879 192,263 129,946 22,813 1,528 1,307 36,669 1,750,116 1,371,804 346,794 61,500

3,500–3,999 grams ............. 1,600,964 134,348 92,747 13,464 1,105 965 26,067 1,416,226 1,218,429 175,593 50,390

4,000–4,499 grams ............. 494,877 35,350 24,420 2,998 319 250 7,363 443,656 400,298 37,058 15,871

4,500–4,999 grams ............. 89,660 5,980 4,190 450 50 45 1,245 80,750 73,757 5,857 2,930

5,000 grams or more ........... 11,598 891 648 52 6 3 182 10,341 9,289 912 366

Not stated .................. 5,481 414 244 76 2 6 86 4,478 3,052 1,334 589

Mother born outside the 50 States and

the District of Columbia ........... 1,140,509 640,392 406,158 53,961 26,930 132,531 20,812 482,588 192,252 82,345 17,529

Less than 500 grams ........... 1,025 509 289 61 26 115 18 487 145 186 29

500–999 grams ............... 4,600 2,417 1,380 319 103 542 73 2,057 703 776 126

1,000–1,499 grams ............. 6,028 3,300 1,920 399 147 703 131 2,589 893 764 139

1,500–1,999 grams ............. 12,446 6,647 3,881 880 275 1,365 246 5,561 1,922 1,390 238

2,000–2,499 grams ............. 42,921 22,267 12,769 3,038 944 4,788 728 19,921 6,533 4,300 733

2,500–2,999 grams ............. 187,758 96,800 57,366 11,100 3,736 21,193 3,405 87,941 27,524 16,155 3,017

3,000–3,499 grams ............. 446,851 247,004 154,669 21,185 10,250 52,677 8,223 192,993 71,695 32,009 6,854

3,500–3,999 grams ............. 326,656 192,291 126,277 13,100 8,402 38,550 5,962 129,591 60,484 20,352 4,774

4,000–4,499 grams ............. 92,171 56,584 38,640 3,206 2,545 10,489 1,704 34,263 18,383 5,274 1,324

4,500–4,999 grams ............. 16,420 10,326 7,361 538 421 1,735 271 5,869 3,346 883 225

5,000 grams or more ........... 2,412 1,537 1,155 70 61 217 34 854 434 147 21

Not stated .................. 1,221 710 451 65 20 157 17 462 190 109 49

Place of birth of mother not stated ..... 11,650 1,274 712 206 10 43 303 8,206 4,834 3,140 2,170

Less than 500 grams . . . . . . . . . . . 292 13 6 1 – – 6 181 87 88 98

500–999 grams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 423 25 14 4 – 1 6 299 152 143 99

1,000–1,499 grams . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256 19 14 1 – – 4 181 96 82 56

1,500–1,999 grams . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302 25 13 6 – 1 5 217 114 99 60

2,000–2,499 grams . . . . . . . . . . . . . 743 62 29 13 – 3 17 525 272 242 156

2,500–2,999 grams ............. 2,266 227 120 43 – 4 60 1,644 816 781 395

3,000–3,499 grams ............. 3,960 526 298 90 6 16 116 2,779 1,647 1,042 655

3,500–3,999 grams ............. 2,440 278 159 33 4 12 70 1,743 1,189 506 419

4,000–4,499 grams . . . . . . . . . . . . . 607 68 41 8 – 3 16 436 328 92 103

4,500–4,999 grams . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 15 9 2 – 3 1 68 60 7 17

5,000 grams or more . . . . . . . . . . . 20 2 1 1 – – – 14 10 3 4

Not stated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241 14 8 4 – – 2 119 63 55 108

31
Table 7. Live births and infant deaths by place of birth of mother, birthweight , and Hispanic origin of mother and by race of mother for

mothers of non-Hispanic origin: Total of 20 States and the District of Columbia, 1985–87 birth cohorts—Con.

Place of birth of mother and

birthweight

All

origins1

Origin of mother

Hispanic Non-Hispanic

Not

Total Mexican stated

Puerto

Rican Cuban

Central

and South

American

Other and

unknown

Hispanic Total2 White Black

Infant deaths

All places of birth ............... 65,847 9,610 6,048 1,224 234 1,061 1,043 53,633 33,466 17,801 2,604

Less than 500 grams ........... 7,223 803 496 91 31 89 96 6,037 3,123 2,692 383

500–999 grams ............... 16,615 2,424 1,475 347 64 293 245 13,459 7,590 5,409 732

1,000–1,499 grams ............. 5,330 835 541 95 28 81 90 4,281 2,818 1,267 214

1,500–1,999 grams ............. 4,337 626 414 68 9 58 77 3,537 2,327 1,035 174

2,000–2,499 grams ............. 5,566 870 554 128 21 84 83 4,539 2,883 1,430 157

2,500–2,999 grams ............. 7,845 1,202 730 170 19 143 140 6,399 4,014 2,069 244

3,000–3,499 grams ............. 9,655 1,419 918 159 32 145 165 7,945 5,445 2,095 291

3,500–3,999 grams ............. 5,302 827 543 73 25 90 96 4,334 3,200 910 141

4,000–4,499 grams ............. 1,503 258 176 28 2 33 19 1,199 955 189 46

4,500–4,999 grams . . . . . . . . . . . . . 361 62 47 4 1 8 2 286 225 45 13

5,000 grams or more . . . . . . . . . . . 179 25 19 3 – – 3 145 96 45 9

Not stated .................. 1,931 259 135 58 2 37 27 1,472 790 615 200

Mother born in the 50 States and

the District of Columbia ........... 55,424 4,470 2,885 649 46 25 865 48,884 31,641 16,394 2,070

Less than 500 grams ........... 6,085 383 258 41 8 – 76 5,440 2,913 2,449 262

500–999 grams ............... 13,848 1,082 678 177 13 7 207 12,195 7,071 4,955 571

1,000–1,499 grams ............. 4,466 390 257 56 5 2 70 3,904 2,663 1,174 172

1,500–1,999 grams ............. 3,675 289 187 30 4 1 67 3,243 2,214 978 143

2,000–2,499 grams ............. 4,720 409 267 69 2 3 68 4,170 2,743 1,341 141

2,500–2,999 grams ............. 6,694 594 361 105 3 5 120 5,891 3,847 1,937 209

3,000–3,499 grams ............. 8,235 675 446 78 6 2 143 7,310 5,204 1,955 250

3,500–3,999 grams ............. 4,510 402 280 41 5 2 74 3,983 3,055 841 125

4,000–4,499 grams ............. 1,238 107 74 16 – 2 15 1,091 904 166 40

4,500–4,999 grams . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292 20 16 3 – – 1 259 216 37 13

5,000 grams or more . . . . . . . . . . . 156 14 10 1 – – 3 133 90 42 9

Not stated .................. 1,505 105 51 32 – 1 21 1,265 721 519 135

Mother born outside the 50 States and

the District of Columbia ........... 9,381 5,076 3,132 565 188 1,035 156 4,086 1,471 1,113 219

Less than 500 grams . . . . . . . . . . . 860 407 232 49 23 89 14 426 127 160 27

500–999 grams ............... 2,435 1,320 785 166 51 286 32 1,038 399 351 77

1,000–1,499 grams . . . . . . . . . . . . . 787 440 281 39 23 79 18 330 128 74 17

1,500–1,999 grams . . . . . . . . . . . . . 618 335 225 38 5 57 10 267 92 52 16

2,000–2,499 grams . . . . . . . . . . . . . 798 454 285 58 19 80 12 337 121 78 7

2,500–2,999 grams ............. 1,101 607 369 65 16 138 19 468 146 115 26

3,000–3,499 grams ............. 1,362 741 471 81 26 143 20 596 217 125 25

3,500–3,999 grams . . . . . . . . . . . . . 773 424 262 32 20 88 22 338 138 64 11

4,000–4,499 grams . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258 151 102 12 2 31 4 103 46 23 4

4,500–4,999 grams . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 42 31 1 1 8 1 24 7 7 –

5,000 grams or more . . . . . . . . . . . 22 11 9 2 – – – 11 5 3 –

Not stated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301 144 80 22 2 36 4 148 45 61 9

Place of birth of mother not stated ..... 1,042 64 31 10 – 1 22 663 354 294 315

Less than 500 grams . . . . . . . . . . . 278 13 6 1 – – 6 171 83 83 94

500–999 grams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 332 22 12 4 – – 6 226 120 103 84

1,000–1,499 grams . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 5 3 – – – 2 47 27 19 25

1,500–1,999 grams . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 2 2 – – – – 27 21 5 15

2,000–2,499 grams . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 7 2 1 – 1 3 32 19 11 9

2,500–2,999 grams . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 1 – – – – 1 40 21 17 9

3,000–3,499 grams . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 3 1 – – – 2 39 24 15 16

3,500–3,999 grams . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 1 1 – – – – 13 7 5 5

4,000–4,499 grams ............. 7 – – – – – – 5 5 – 2

4,500–4,999 grams ............. 3 – – – – – – 3 2 1 –

5,000 grams or more ........... 1 – – – – – – 1 1 – –

Not stated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125 10 4 4 – – 2 59 24 35 56

1Origin of mother not stated included in ‘‘all origins’’ but not distributed among origin categories.

2Includes races other than white and black.

32
Table 8. Live births and infant deaths by place of birth of mother, trimester of pregnancy prenatal care began, and Hispanic origin of mother

and by race of mother for mothers of non-Hispanic origin: Total of 20 States and the District of Columbia, 1985–87 birth cohorts

Place of birth of mother and

trimester prenatal care began

All

origins1

Origin of mother

Hispanic Non-Hispanic

Not

Total Mexican stated

Puerto

Rican Cuban

Central

and South

American

Other and

unknown

Hispanic Total2 White Black

Live births

All places of birth of mother .......... 6,627,611 1,131,445 737,105 111,919 30,855 135,974 115,592 5,305,948 4,021,526 995,311 190,218

No prenatal care ............... 151,752 54,711 34,218 9,921 450 7,610 2,512 93,137 43,946 44,195 3,904

First trimester ................ 4,836,464 671,163 427,997 61,827 25,260 78,424 77,655 4,025,727 3,243,716 576,527 139,574

Second trimester .............. 1,210,808 289,615 195,395 27,512 4,105 36,092 26,511 891,965 562,862 274,428 29,228

Third trimester ................ 288,689 84,137 59,267 7,868 751 9,943 6,308 197,238 116,382 66,050 7,314

Not stated ................... 139,898 31,819 20,228 4,791 289 3,905 2,606 97,881 54,620 34,111 10,198

Mother born in the 50 States and

the District of Columbia ........... 5,475,452 489,779 330,235 57,752 3,915 3,400 94,477 4,815,154 3,824,440 909,826 170,519

No prenatal care ............... 104,502 19,341 11,919 5,223 79 147 1,973 82,147 40,914 39,599 3,014

First trimester ................ 4,103,251 302,166 201,716 31,591 2,927 2,199 63,733 3,673,146 3,089,591 528,447 127,939

Second trimester .............. 952,244 121,805 84,242 14,436 718 728 21,681 804,847 535,042 252,594 25,592

Third trimester ................ 214,090 33,410 23,726 4,126 150 231 5,177 174,344 108,994 60,391 6,336

Not stated ................... 101,365 13,057 8,632 2,376 41 95 1,913 80,670 49,899 28,795 7,638

Mother born outside the 50 States and

the District of Columbia ........... 1,140,509 640,392 406,158 53,961 26,930 132,531 20,812 482,588 192,252 82,345 17,529

No prenatal care ............... 46,350 35,248 22,223 4,681 371 7,461 512 10,485 2,769 4,362 617

First trimester ................ 728,449 368,490 226,023 30,150 22,327 76,197 13,793 348,900 151,698 46,949 11,059

Second trimester .............. 256,310 167,517 110,989 13,021 3,385 35,357 4,765 85,493 26,958 21,118 3,300

Third trimester ................ 73,616 50,587 35,448 3,726 601 9,708 1,104 22,235 6,961 5,445 794

Not stated ................... 35,784 18,550 11,475 2,383 246 3,808 638 15,475 3,866 4,471 1,759

Place of birth of mother not stated ...... 11,650 1,274 712 206 10 43 303 8,206 4,834 3,140 2,170

No prenatal care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 900 122 76 17 – 2 27 505 263 234 273

First trimester ................ 4,764 507 258 86 6 28 129 3,681 2,427 1,131 576

Second trimester .............. 2,254 293 164 55 2 7 65 1,625 862 716 336

Third trimester . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 983 140 93 16 – 4 27 659 427 214 184

Not stated ................... 2,749 212 121 32 2 2 55 1,736 855 845 801

Infant deaths

All places of birth of mother .......... 65,847 9,610 6,048 1,224 234 1,061 1,043 53,633 33,466 17,801 2,604

No prenatal care ............... 5,309 1,086 631 248 10 120 77 4,018 1,582 2,317 205

First trimester ................ 41,240 5,240 3,331 561 167 582 599 34,545 23,795 9,241 1,455

Second trimester .............. 12,669 2,189 1,422 240 39 246 242 10,138 5,455 4,192 342

Third trimester ................ 2,472 514 337 69 8 53 47 1,889 1,033 765 69

Not stated ................... 4,157 581 327 106 10 60 78 3,043 1,601 1,286 533

Mother born in the 50 States and

the District of Columbia ........... 55,424 4,470 2,885 649 46 25 865 48,884 31,641 16,394 2,070

No prenatal care ............... 4,316 511 297 141 3 4 66 3,673 1,484 2,128 132

First trimester ................ 35,374 2,397 1,586 291 26 16 478 31,684 22,602 8,598 1,293

Second trimester .............. 10,714 1,077 703 141 12 1 220 9,338 5,202 3,927 299

Third trimester ................ 2,019 230 145 40 4 1 40 1,735 983 708 54

Not stated ................... 3,001 255 154 36 1 3 61 2,454 1,370 1,033 292

Mother born outside the 50 States and

the District of Columbia ........... 9,381 5,076 3,132 565 188 1,035 156 4,086 1,471 1,113 219

No prenatal care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 844 568 333 103 7 116 9 249 59 133 27

First trimester ................ 5,607 2,824 1,735 268 141 566 114 2,677 1,082 577 106

Second trimester .............. 1,866 1,104 715 98 27 245 19 733 217 236 29

Third trimester . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 428 282 191 29 4 52 6 139 47 45 7

Not stated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 636 298 158 67 9 56 8 288 66 122 50

Place of birth of mother not stated ...... 1,042 64 31 10 – 1 22 663 354 294 315

No prenatal care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149 7 1 4 – – 2 96 39 56 46

First trimester . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259 19 10 2 – – 7 184 111 66 56

Second trimester . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 8 4 1 – – 3 67 36 29 14

Third trimester . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 2 1 – – – 1 15 3 12 8

Not stated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 520 28 15 3 – 1 9 301 165 131 191

1Origin of mother not stated included in ‘‘all origins’’ but not distributed among origin categories.

2Includes races other than white and black.

33
Table 9. Live births and infant deaths by plurality of birth, birthweight, and Hispanic origin of mother and by race of mother for mothers

of non-Hispanic origin: Total of 20 States and the District of Columbia, 1985–87 birth cohorts

Plurality and birthweight

All

origins1

Origin of mother

Hispanic Non-Hispanic

Not

Total Mexican stated

Puerto

Rican Cuban

Central

and South

American

Other and

unknown

Hispanic Total2 White Black

Live births

All deliveries .................. 6,627,611 1,131,445 737,105 111,919 30,855 135,974 115,592 5,305,948 4,021,526 995,311 190,218

Less than 500 grams ........... 8,202 984 618 111 34 115 106 6,795 3,483 3,066 423

500–999 grams ............... 31,331 4,469 2,679 655 121 557 457 25,561 13,606 11,063 1,301

1,000–1,499 grams ............. 41,261 6,268 3,807 886 172 724 679 33,457 19,309 12,806 1,536

1,500–1,999 grams ............. 86,767 13,209 8,055 1,948 334 1,418 1,454 70,631 42,482 24,949 2,927

2,000–2,499 grams ............. 286,999 44,465 26,963 6,569 1,111 4,934 4,888 234,146 145,577 76,084 8,388

2,500–2,999 grams ............. 1,073,493 183,449 113,719 23,595 4,364 21,791 19,980 860,600 562,611 239,316 29,444

3,000–3,499 grams ............. 2,454,690 439,793 284,913 44,088 11,784 54,000 45,008 1,945,888 1,445,146 379,845 69,009

3,500–3,999 grams ............. 1,930,060 326,917 219,183 26,597 9,511 39,527 32,099 1,547,560 1,280,102 196,451 55,583

4,000–4,499 grams ............. 587,655 92,002 63,101 6,212 2,864 10,742 9,083 478,355 419,009 42,424 17,298

4,500–4,999 grams ............. 106,180 16,321 11,560 990 471 1,783 1,517 86,687 77,163 6,747 3,172

5,000 grams or more ........... 14,030 2,430 1,804 123 67 220 216 11,209 9,733 1,062 391

Not stated .................. 6,943 1,138 703 145 22 163 105 5,059 3,305 1,498 746

Single deliveries ................ 6,485,922 1,110,605 723,585 109,679 30,196 133,623 113,522 5,189,498 3,934,782 970,106 185,819

Less than 500 grams ........... 6,475 812 515 100 22 93 82 5,333 2,623 2,503 330

500–999 grams ............... 25,922 3,766 2,221 574 105 484 382 21,086 10,848 9,471 1,070

1,000–1,499 grams ............. 33,457 5,219 3,143 746 142 628 560 27,008 15,039 10,832 1,230

1,500–1,999 grams ............. 68,614 10,599 6,407 1,610 254 1,120 1,208 55,683 32,249 20,826 2,332

2,000–2,499 grams ............. 247,776 38,712 23,216 5,900 942 4,343 4,311 201,816 122,096 68,666 7,248

2,500–2,999 grams ............. 1,030,169 176,668 109,300 22,954 4,157 20,996 19,261 825,268 535,115 232,896 28,233

3,000–3,499 grams ............. 2,433,625 436,711 282,895 43,794 11,672 53,607 44,743 1,928,561 1,430,875 377,376 68,353

3,500–3,999 grams ............. 1,926,104 326,365 218,810 26,551 9,480 39,460 32,064 1,544,259 1,277,297 196,031 55,480

4,000–4,499 grams ............. 587,273 91,946 63,063 6,206 2,862 10,737 9,078 478,046 418,735 42,399 17,281

4,500–4,999 grams ............. 106,140 16,316 11,555 990 471 1,783 1,517 86,653 77,136 6,743 3,171

5,000 grams or more ........... 14,002 2,428 1,802 123 67 220 216 11,184 9,719 1,052 390

Not stated .................. 6,365 1,063 658 131 22 152 100 4,601 3,050 1,311 701

Multiple deliveries ............... 141,689 20,840 13,520 2,240 659 2,351 2,070 116,450 86,744 25,205 4,399

Less than 500 grams ........... 1,727 172 103 11 12 22 24 1,462 860 563 93

500–999 grams ............... 5,409 703 458 81 16 73 75 4,475 2,758 1,592 231

1,000–1,499 grams ............. 7,804 1,049 664 140 30 96 119 6,449 4,270 1,974 306

1,500–1,999 grams ............. 18,153 2,610 1,648 338 80 298 246 14,948 10,233 4,123 595

2,000–2,499 grams ............. 39,223 5,753 3,747 669 169 591 577 32,330 23,481 7,418 1,140

2,500–2,999 grams ............. 43,324 6,781 4,419 641 207 795 719 35,332 27,496 6,420 1,211

3,000–3,499 grams ............. 21,065 3,082 2,018 294 112 393 265 17,327 14,271 2,469 656

3,500–3,999 grams ............. 3,956 552 373 46 31 67 35 3,301 2,805 420 103

4,000–4,499 grams . . . . . . . . . . . . . 382 56 38 6 2 5 5 309 274 25 17

4,500–4,999 grams . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 5 5 – – – – 34 27 4 1

5,000 grams or more . . . . . . . . . . . 28 2 2 – – – – 25 14 10 1

Not stated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 578 75 45 14 – 11 5 458 255 187 45

Infant deaths

All deliveries .................. 65,847 9,610 6,048 1,224 234 1,061 1,043 53,633 33,466 17,801 2,604

Less than 500 grams ........... 7,223 803 496 91 31 89 96 6,037 3,123 2,692 383

500–999 grams ............... 16,615 2,424 1,475 347 64 293 245 13,459 7,590 5,409 732

1,000–1,499 grams ............. 5,330 835 541 95 28 81 90 4,281 2,818 1,267 214

1,500–1,999 grams ............. 4,337 626 414 68 9 58 77 3,537 2,327 1,035 174

2,000–2,499 grams ............. 5,566 870 554 128 21 84 83 4,539 2,883 1,430 157

2,500–2,999 grams ............. 7,845 1,202 730 170 19 143 140 6,399 4,014 2,069 244

3,000–3,499 grams ............. 9,655 1,419 918 159 32 145 165 7,945 5,445 2,095 291

3,500–3,999 grams ............. 5,302 827 543 73 25 90 96 4,334 3,200 910 141

4,000–4,499 grams ............. 1,503 258 176 28 2 33 19 1,199 955 189 46

4,500–4,999 grams . . . . . . . . . . . . . 361 62 47 4 1 8 2 286 225 45 13

5,000 grams or more . . . . . . . . . . . 179 25 19 3 – – 3 145 96 45 9

Not stated .................. 1,931 259 135 58 2 37 27 1,472 790 615 200

34
Table 9. Live births and infant deaths by plurality of birth, birthweight, and Hispanic origin of mother and by race of mother for mothers

of non-Hispanic origin: Total of 20 States and the District of Columbia, 1985–87 birth cohorts—Con.

Plurality and birthweight

All

origins1

Origin of mother

Hispanic Non-Hispanic

Not

Total Mexican stated

Puerto

Rican Cuban

Central

and South

American

Other and

unknown

Hispanic Total2 White Black

Infant deaths

Single deliveries ................ 58,594 8,684 5,470 1,113 205 968 928 47,649 29,541 15,922 2,261

Less than 500 grams ........... 5,629 647 404 82 19 68 74 4,685 2,308 2,193 297

500–999 grams ............... 13,433 2,007 1,209 295 57 256 190 10,850 5,863 4,590 576

1,000–1,499 grams ............. 4,494 706 456 82 22 73 73 3,613 2,321 1,125 175

1,500–1,999 grams ............. 3,886 571 379 59 9 50 74 3,151 2,065 925 164

2,000–2,499 grams ............. 5,139 807 511 120 19 79 78 4,190 2,660 1,318 142

2,500–2,999 grams ............. 7,596 1,167 714 164 17 137 135 6,192 3,871 2,012 237

3,000–3,499 grams ............. 9,549 1,403 907 158 32 143 163 7,858 5,373 2,082 288

3,500–3,999 grams ............. 5,275 825 542 72 25 90 96 4,310 3,186 901 140

4,000–4,499 grams ............. 1,487 254 176 25 2 33 18 1,189 948 188 44

4,500–4,999 grams . . . . . . . . . . . . . 349 60 45 4 1 8 2 277 218 43 12

5,000 grams or more . . . . . . . . . . . 164 25 19 3 – – 3 130 86 40 9

Not stated .................. 1,593 212 108 49 2 31 22 1,204 642 505 177

Multiple deliveries ............... 7,253 926 578 111 29 93 115 5,984 3,925 1,879 343

Less than 500 grams ........... 1,594 156 92 9 12 21 22 1,352 815 499 86

500–999 grams ............... 3,182 417 266 52 7 37 55 2,609 1,727 819 156

1,000–1,499 grams . . . . . . . . . . . . . 836 129 85 13 6 8 17 668 497 142 39

1,500–1,999 grams . . . . . . . . . . . . . 451 55 35 9 – 8 3 386 262 110 10

2,000–2,499 grams . . . . . . . . . . . . . 427 63 43 8 2 5 5 349 223 112 15

2,500–2,999 grams . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249 35 16 6 2 6 5 207 143 57 7

3,000–3,499 grams . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106 16 11 1 – 2 2 87 72 13 3

3,500–3,999 grams . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 2 1 1 – – – 24 14 9 1

4,000–4,499 grams . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 4 – 3 – – 1 10 7 1 2

4,500–4,999 grams . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 2 2 – – – – 9 7 2 1

5,000 grams or more . . . . . . . . . . . 15 – – – – – – 15 10 5 –

Not stated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 338 47 27 9 – 6 5 268 148 110 23

1Origin of mother not stated included in ‘‘all origins’’ but not distributed among origin categories.

2Includes races other than white and black.

35
Table 10. Live births and infant deaths by period of gestation, birthweight, and Hispanic origin of mother and by race of mother for

mothers of non-Hispanic origin: Total of 20 States and the District of Columbia, 1985–87 birth cohorts

Period of gestation and

birthweight

All

origins1

Origin of mother

Hispanic Non-Hispanic

Not

Total Mexican stated

Puerto

Rican Cuban

Central

and South

American

Other and

unknown

Hispanic Total2 White Black

Live births

All periods of gestation ......... 6,627,611 1,131,445 737,105 111,919 30,855 135,974 115,592 5,305,948 4,021,526 995,311 190,218

Less than 500 grams ........ 8,202 984 618 111 34 115 106 6,795 3,483 3,066 423

500–999 grams ............ 31,331 4,469 2,679 655 121 557 457 25,561 13,606 11,063 1,301

1,000–1,499 grams .......... 41,261 6,268 3,807 886 172 724 679 33,457 19,309 12,806 1,536

1,500–1,999 grams .......... 86,767 13,209 8,055 1,948 334 1,418 1,454 70,631 42,482 24,949 2,927

2,000–2,499 grams .......... 286,999 44,465 26,963 6,569 1,111 4,934 4,888 234,146 145,577 76,084 8,388

2,500–2,999 grams .......... 1,073,493 183,449 113,719 23,595 4,364 21,791 19,980 860,600 562,611 239,316 29,444

3,000–3,499 grams .......... 2,454,690 439,793 284,913 44,088 11,784 54,000 45,008 1,945,888 1,445,146 379,845 69,009

3,500–3,999 grams .......... 1,930,060 326,917 219,183 26,597 9,511 39,527 32,099 1,547,560 1,280,102 196,451 55,583

4,000–4,499 grams .......... 587,655 92,002 63,101 6,212 2,864 10,742 9,083 478,355 419,009 42,424 17,298

4,500–4,999 grams .......... 106,180 16,321 11,560 990 471 1,783 1,517 86,687 77,163 6,747 3,172

5,000 grams or more ........ 14,030 2,430 1,804 123 67 220 216 11,209 9,733 1,062 391

Not stated ............... 6,943 1,138 703 145 22 163 105 5,059 3,305 1,498 746

Under 28 weeks ............. 49,271 7,163 4,487 947 177 786 766 40,348 20,894 18,080 1,760

Less than 500 grams ........ 6,179 690 445 74 23 70 78 5,238 2,724 2,341 251

500–999 grams ............ 19,226 2,654 1,607 365 79 322 281 15,832 8,500 6,835 740

1,000–1,499 grams .......... 6,386 982 610 135 26 106 105 5,176 2,667 2,327 228

1,500–1,999 grams .......... 2,579 426 281 50 8 39 48 2,091 780 1,222 62

2,000–2,499 grams .......... 2,425 368 246 50 9 32 31 1,986 878 1,047 71

2,500–2,999 grams .......... 3,540 569 361 75 9 58 66 2,865 1,261 1,502 106

3,000–3,499 grams .......... 4,595 797 516 103 8 77 93 3,661 1,944 1,577 137

3,500–3,999 grams .......... 2,474 418 278 42 9 47 42 1,976 1,273 622 80

4,000–4,499 grams . . . . . . . . . . 599 89 63 7 3 7 9 492 343 137 18

4,500–4,999 grams . . . . . . . . . . 138 25 14 5 1 4 1 108 79 28 5

5,000 grams or more . . . . . . . . 95 10 6 2 – 1 1 80 39 39 5

Not stated ............... 1,035 135 60 39 2 23 11 843 406 403 57

28–36 weeks ............... 600,096 110,595 71,550 12,772 2,575 12,607 11,091 473,247 292,402 154,420 16,254

Less than 500 grams . . . . . . . . 377 54 32 5 2 6 9 302 153 140 21

500–999 grams ............ 6,995 993 578 162 29 113 111 5,745 3,100 2,431 257

1,000–1,499 grams .......... 27,461 3,994 2,417 535 121 473 448 22,506 13,436 8,206 961

1,500–1,999 grams .......... 58,914 8,622 5,222 1,200 222 983 995 48,395 29,757 16,534 1,897

2,000–2,499 grams .......... 119,137 18,018 11,048 2,534 511 1,962 1,963 97,746 61,399 31,622 3,373

2,500–2,999 grams .......... 163,432 28,479 17,901 3,643 731 3,300 2,904 130,779 80,288 43,064 4,174

3,000–3,499 grams .......... 143,089 30,577 20,415 3,115 602 3,574 2,871 108,925 65,366 36,231 3,587

3,500–3,999 grams .......... 62,617 15,311 10,700 1,266 274 1,690 1,381 45,796 29,666 13,169 1,510

4,000–4,499 grams .......... 14,355 3,622 2,575 236 72 418 321 10,390 7,421 2,333 343

4,500–4,999 grams .......... 2,312 651 473 46 7 62 63 1,589 1,185 305 72

5,000 grams or more . . . . . . . . 445 113 90 8 1 3 11 322 218 77 10

Not stated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 962 161 99 22 3 23 14 752 413 308 49

37–41 weeks ............... 4,876,305 820,853 528,509 82,338 23,771 102,438 83,797 3,919,457 3,031,585 671,467 135,995

Less than 500 grams . . . . . . . . 295 55 25 8 1 16 5 222 132 80 18

500–999 grams ............ 1,286 248 102 64 4 64 14 971 436 481 67

1,000–1,499 grams .......... 3,144 611 310 140 14 90 57 2,400 1,321 955 133

1,500–1,999 grams .......... 17,258 2,777 1,592 523 69 301 292 13,945 8,331 4,939 536

2,000–2,499 grams .......... 135,218 20,926 12,291 3,383 486 2,477 2,289 110,494 68,918 35,170 3,798

2,500–2,999 grams .......... 765,417 129,272 78,759 17,118 3,171 15,973 14,251 615,487 409,170 162,761 20,658

3,000–3,499 grams .......... 1,921,360 337,073 215,203 34,746 9,649 42,822 34,653 1,531,390 1,153,199 282,685 52,897

3,500–3,999 grams .......... 1,504,537 248,788 164,918 20,828 7,713 31,036 24,293 1,213,185 1,010,771 147,174 42,564

4,000–4,499 grams .......... 440,089 67,443 45,747 4,678 2,243 8,071 6,704 359,973 316,245 31,261 12,673

4,500–4,999 grams .......... 75,389 11,444 7,996 714 358 1,332 1,044 61,766 54,946 4,853 2,179

5,000 grams or more ........ 9,459 1,709 1,254 85 51 168 151 7,490 6,501 707 260

Not stated ............... 2,853 507 312 51 12 88 44 2,134 1,615 401 212

36
Table 10. Live births and infant deaths by period of gestation, birthweight, and Hispanic origin of mother and by race of mother for

mothers of non-Hispanic origin: Total of 20 States and the District of Columbia, 1985–87 birth cohorts—Con.

Period of gestation and

birthweight

All

origins1

Origin of mother

Hispanic Non-Hispanic

Not

Total Mexican stated

Puerto

Rican Cuban

Central

and South

American

Other and

unknown

Hispanic Total2 White Black

Live births

42 weeks and over ........... 864,653 143,866 95,369 13,345 3,737 16,100 15,315 696,219 555,414 110,840 24,568

Less than 500 grams . . . . . . . . 67 15 7 5 – 3 – 51 27 22 1

500–999 grams . . . . . . . . . . . . 294 55 24 13 1 14 3 224 114 105 15

1,000–1,499 grams . . . . . . . . . . 661 123 62 29 4 15 13 510 271 213 28

1,500–1,999 grams .......... 2,224 353 193 85 15 26 34 1,770 1,057 640 101

2,000–2,499 grams .......... 15,883 2,519 1,479 407 69 256 308 12,906 8,143 4,249 458

2,500–2,999 grams .......... 98,461 16,835 10,546 2,219 364 1,777 1,929 79,032 52,786 21,889 2,594

3,000–3,499 grams .......... 302,125 53,251 35,022 5,212 1,324 5,996 5,697 240,403 182,834 45,643 8,471

3,500–3,999 grams .......... 300,855 49,486 33,313 3,966 1,351 5,657 5,199 242,795 204,302 29,073 8,574

4,000–4,499 grams .......... 115,017 17,205 11,835 1,166 499 1,963 1,742 94,394 84,026 7,387 3,418

4,500–4,999 grams .......... 24,934 3,451 2,481 209 91 339 331 20,727 18,823 1,337 756

5,000 grams or more ........ 3,557 484 355 27 15 41 46 2,980 2,705 196 93

Not stated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 575 89 52 7 4 13 13 427 326 86 59

Not stated ................. 237,286 48,968 37,190 2,517 595 4,043 4,623 176,677 121,231 40,504 11,641

Less than 500 grams ........ 1,284 170 109 19 8 20 14 982 447 483 132

500–999 grams ............ 3,530 519 368 51 8 44 48 2,789 1,456 1,211 222

1,000–1,499 grams .......... 3,609 558 408 47 7 40 56 2,865 1,614 1,105 186

1,500–1,999 grams .......... 5,792 1,031 767 90 20 69 85 4,430 2,557 1,614 331

2,000–2,499 grams .......... 14,336 2,634 1,899 195 36 207 297 11,014 6,239 3,996 688

2,500–2,999 grams .......... 42,643 8,294 6,152 540 89 683 830 32,437 19,106 10,100 1,912

3,000–3,499 grams .......... 83,521 18,095 13,757 912 201 1,531 1,694 61,509 41,803 13,709 3,917

3,500–3,999 grams .......... 59,577 12,914 9,974 495 164 1,097 1,184 43,808 34,090 6,413 2,855

4,000–4,499 grams .......... 17,595 3,643 2,881 125 47 283 307 13,106 10,974 1,306 846

4,500–4,999 grams .......... 3,407 750 596 16 14 46 78 2,497 2,130 224 160

5,000 grams or more . . . . . . . . 474 114 99 1 – 7 7 337 270 43 23

Not stated ............... 1,518 246 180 26 1 16 23 903 545 300 369

Infant deaths

All periods of gestation ......... 65,847 9,610 6,048 1,224 234 1,061 1,043 53,633 33,466 17,801 2,604

Less than 500 grams ........ 7,223 803 496 91 31 89 96 6,037 3,123 2,692 383

500–999 grams ............ 16,615 2,424 1,475 347 64 293 245 13,459 7,590 5,409 732

1,000–1,499 grams .......... 5,330 835 541 95 28 81 90 4,281 2,818 1,267 214

1,500–1,999 grams .......... 4,337 626 414 68 9 58 77 3,537 2,327 1,035 174

2,000–2,499 grams .......... 5,566 870 554 128 21 84 83 4,539 2,883 1,430 157

2,500–2,999 grams .......... 7,845 1,202 730 170 19 143 140 6,399 4,014 2,069 244

3,000–3,499 grams .......... 9,655 1,419 918 159 32 145 165 7,945 5,445 2,095 291

3,500–3,999 grams .......... 5,302 827 543 73 25 90 96 4,334 3,200 910 141

4,000–4,499 grams .......... 1,503 258 176 28 2 33 19 1,199 955 189 46

4,500–4,999 grams . . . . . . . . . . 361 62 47 4 1 8 2 286 225 45 13

5,000 grams or more . . . . . . . . 179 25 19 3 – – 3 145 96 45 9

Not stated ............... 1,931 259 135 58 2 37 27 1,472 790 615 200

Under 28 weeks ............. 19,771 2,671 1,633 363 76 299 300 16,297 9,083 6,689 803

Less than 500 grams ........ 5,649 605 382 65 20 64 74 4,815 2,553 2,100 229

500–999 grams ............ 11,376 1,632 1,000 216 49 190 177 9,287 5,294 3,708 457

1,000–1,499 grams .......... 1,238 202 131 23 4 18 26 993 628 331 43

1,500–1,999 grams . . . . . . . . . . 215 36 25 4 – 3 4 172 89 74 7

2,000–2,499 grams . . . . . . . . . . 109 15 11 4 – – – 91 42 45 3

2,500–2,999 grams . . . . . . . . . . 81 21 13 6 – – 2 55 25 29 5

3,000–3,499 grams . . . . . . . . . . 103 23 13 4 – 2 4 75 38 35 5

3,500–3,999 grams . . . . . . . . . . 59 7 4 1 1 1 – 50 32 18 2

4,000–4,499 grams . . . . . . . . . . 32 5 – 2 – 2 1 27 16 11 –

4,500–4,999 grams . . . . . . . . . . 36 7 3 1 1 2 – 27 15 12 2

5,000 grams or more . . . . . . . . 55 4 1 2 – – 1 48 23 23 3

Not stated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 818 114 50 35 1 17 11 657 328 303 47

37
Table 10. Live births and infant deaths by period of gestation, birthweight, and Hispanic origin of mother and by race of mother for

mothers of non-Hispanic origin: Total of 20 States and the District of Columbia, 1985–87 birth cohorts—Con.

Period of gestation and

birthweight

All

origins1

Origin of mother

Hispanic Non-Hispanic

Not

Total Mexican stated

Puerto

Rican Cuban

Central

and South

American

Other and

unknown

Hispanic Total2 White Black

Infant deaths

28–36 weeks ............... 14,175 2,159 1,354 282 54 240 229 11,524 7,319 3,686 492

Less than 500 grams . . . . . . . . 297 38 20 3 2 6 7 241 128 106 18

500–999 grams ............ 2,572 387 226 68 10 48 35 2,081 1,208 790 104

1,000–1,499 grams .......... 3,071 465 301 46 17 47 54 2,491 1,711 671 115

1,500–1,999 grams .......... 2,706 374 242 36 5 38 53 2,233 1,487 644 99

2,000–2,499 grams .......... 2,292 344 205 59 8 35 37 1,888 1,218 581 60

2,500–2,999 grams .......... 1,628 264 166 34 6 33 25 1,318 792 466 46

3,000–3,499 grams . . . . . . . . . . 900 147 98 19 4 17 9 733 453 241 20

3,500–3,999 grams . . . . . . . . . . 352 74 51 7 2 7 7 267 153 96 11

4,000–4,499 grams . . . . . . . . . . 79 19 15 2 – 2 – 56 39 16 4

4,500–4,999 grams . . . . . . . . . . 16 6 4 1 – 1 – 10 10 – –

5,000 grams or more . . . . . . . . 27 3 3 – – – – 23 16 6 1

Not stated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235 38 23 7 – 6 2 183 104 69 14

37–41 weeks ............... 21,208 3,206 1,971 437 73 367 358 17,348 11,779 4,667 654

Less than 500 grams . . . . . . . . 110 15 3 6 1 3 2 82 33 45 13

500–999 grams . . . . . . . . . . . . 493 86 29 29 1 23 4 380 167 196 27

1,000–1,499 grams . . . . . . . . . . 381 75 41 15 4 13 2 290 174 94 16

1,500–1,999 grams . . . . . . . . . . 964 145 96 21 2 9 17 779 525 208 40

2,000–2,499 grams .......... 2,369 365 240 54 11 28 32 1,949 1,230 612 55

2,500–2,999 grams .......... 4,843 738 428 122 11 87 90 3,953 2,506 1,255 152

3,000–3,499 grams .......... 6,758 966 607 103 23 110 123 5,596 3,892 1,418 196

3,500–3,999 grams .......... 3,736 560 355 56 18 61 70 3,079 2,292 621 97

4,000–4,499 grams .......... 1,021 174 117 20 2 22 13 815 656 117 32

4,500–4,999 grams . . . . . . . . . . 205 31 26 2 – 3 – 168 131 25 6

5,000 grams or more . . . . . . . . 45 12 10 1 – – 1 31 23 8 2

Not stated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283 39 19 8 – 8 4 226 150 68 18

42 weeks and over ........... 4,407 655 429 69 14 75 68 3,619 2,531 921 133

Less than 500 grams . . . . . . . . 36 5 – 3 – 2 – 30 9 20 1

500–999 grams . . . . . . . . . . . . 128 23 11 6 – 5 1 100 47 51 5

1,000–1,499 grams . . . . . . . . . . 87 16 8 4 1 1 2 66 35 29 5

1,500–1,999 grams . . . . . . . . . . 131 20 10 5 – 4 1 103 60 38 8

2,000–2,499 grams . . . . . . . . . . 405 67 41 8 1 9 8 323 219 92 15

2,500–2,999 grams . . . . . . . . . . 842 109 72 5 2 14 16 716 469 206 17

3,000–3,499 grams .......... 1,378 199 137 26 5 13 18 1,138 792 291 41

3,500–3,999 grams . . . . . . . . . . 919 149 101 8 4 19 17 752 583 135 18

4,000–4,499 grams . . . . . . . . . . 312 49 34 4 – 6 5 254 208 37 9

4,500–4,999 grams . . . . . . . . . . 77 10 9 – – 1 – 63 54 6 4

5,000 grams or more . . . . . . . . 24 3 3 – – – – 21 17 3 –

Not stated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 5 3 – 1 1 – 53 38 13 10

Not stated ................. 6,286 919 661 73 17 80 88 4,845 2,754 1,838 522

Less than 500 grams ........ 1,131 140 91 14 8 14 13 869 400 421 122

500–999 grams ............ 2,046 296 209 28 4 27 28 1,611 874 664 139

1,000–1,499 grams . . . . . . . . . . 553 77 60 7 2 2 6 441 270 142 35

1,500–1,999 grams . . . . . . . . . . 321 51 41 2 2 4 2 250 166 71 20

2,000–2,499 grams . . . . . . . . . . 391 79 57 3 1 12 6 288 174 100 24

2,500–2,999 grams . . . . . . . . . . 451 70 51 3 – 9 7 357 222 113 24

3,000–3,499 grams . . . . . . . . . . 516 84 63 7 – 3 11 403 270 110 29

3,500–3,999 grams . . . . . . . . . . 236 37 32 1 – 2 2 186 140 40 13

4,000–4,499 grams . . . . . . . . . . 59 11 10 – – 1 – 47 36 8 1

4,500–4,999 grams . . . . . . . . . . 27 8 5 – – 1 2 18 15 2 1

5,000 grams or more . . . . . . . . 28 3 2 – – – 1 22 17 5 3

Not stated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 527 63 40 8 – 5 10 353 170 162 111

1Origin of mother not stated included in ‘‘all origins’’ but not distributed among origin categories.

2Includes races other than white and black.

38
Table 11. Live births and infant deaths by sex, age at death, and Hispanic origin of mother and by race of mother for mothers of

non-Hispanic origin: Total of 20 States and the District of Columbia, 1985–87 birth cohorts

Sex and age at

death of infant

All

origins1

Origin of mother

Hispanic Non-Hispanic

Not

Total Mexican stated

Puerto

Rican Cuban

Central

and South

American

Other and

unknown

Hispanic Total2 White Black

Live births

Both sexes ..................... 6,627,611 1,131,445 737,105 111,919 30,855 135,974 115,592 5,305,948 4,021,526 995,311 190,218

Male ........................ 3,395,758 578,091 376,601 57,167 15,873 69,322 59,128 2,720,348 2,065,425 505,673 97,319

Female ...................... 3,231,853 553,354 360,504 54,752 14,982 66,652 56,464 2,585,600 1,956,101 489,638 92,899

Infant deaths

Both sexes ..................... 65,847 9,610 6,048 1,224 234 1,061 1,043 53,633 33,466 17,801 2,604

Early neonatal .................. 35,138 5,072 3,079 708 142 582 561 28,348 17,489 9,732 1,718

Late neonatal .................. 7,201 1,154 793 108 24 123 106 5,778 3,820 1,701 269

Postneonatal .................. 23,508 3,384 2,176 408 68 356 376 19,507 12,157 6,368 617

Male ......................... 37,630 5,487 3,454 699 145 597 592 30,677 19,425 9,896 1,466

Early neonatal .................. 20,030 2,901 1,782 397 86 315 321 16,165 10,041 5,479 964

Late neonatal .................. 4,009 644 431 63 15 74 61 3,219 2,218 861 146

Postneonatal .................. 13,591 1,942 1,241 239 44 208 210 11,293 7,166 3,556 356

Female ....................... 28,217 4,123 2,594 525 89 464 451 22,956 14,041 7,905 1,138

Early neonatal .................. 15,108 2,171 1,297 311 56 267 240 12,183 7,448 4,253 754

Late neonatal .................. 3,192 510 362 45 9 49 45 2,559 1,602 840 123

Postneonatal .................. 9,917 1,442 935 169 24 148 166 8,214 4,991 2,812 261

1Origin of mother not stated included in ‘‘all origins’’ but not distributed among origin categories.

2Includes races other than white and black.

39
Table 12. Infant deaths from 61 selected causes by Hispanic origin of mother and by race of mother for mothers of non-Hispanic origin:

Total of 20 States and the District of Columbia, 1985–87 birth cohorts

Cause of death

Ninth Revision International

Classification of Diseases, 1975

All

origins1

Origin of mother

Hispanic Non-Hispanic

Total Mexican

Puerto

Rican Cuban

Central

and

South

American

Other

and

unknown

Hispanic Total2 White Black

Infant deaths

All causes ............................. 65,847 9,610 6,048 1,224 234 1,061 1,043 53,633 33,466 17,801

Certain intestinal infections ............ 008–009 196 36 19 4 2 8 3 158 61 87

Whooping cough . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 033 5 – – – – – – 5 2 2

Meningococcal infection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 036 109 16 6 2 – 5 3 86 68 14

Septicemia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 038 479 85 54 13 2 14 2 382 200 167

Viral diseases .................... 045–079 209 32 25 1 1 2 3 169 108 46

Congenital syphilis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 090 20 11 8 – 2 1 – 8 1 7

Remainder of infectious and parasitic

diesases ........ 001–007,010–032,034–035,037,

039–041,080-088,091–139 291 53 26 12 1 6 8 233 105 120

Malignant neoplasms including neoplasms of lymphatic

and hematopoietic tissues .............140–208 166 20 14 3 1 1 1 144 105 29

Benign neoplasms, carcinoma in situ, and

neoplasms of uncertain behavior and of

unspecified nature ................. 210–239 110 26 15 4 – 5 2 77 62 9

Diseases of thymus gland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254 8 – – – – – – 8 6 2

Cystic fibrosis ...................... 277.0 21 1 1 – – – – 19 19 –

Diseases of blood and blood-forming

organs ........................ 280–289 109 18 12 – – 4 2 87 40 36

Meningitis ....................... 320–322 376 68 48 3 – 8 9 303 141 140

Other diseases of nervous system and sense

organs ........................ 323–389 745 102 72 7 2 9 12 623 444 148

Acute upper respiratory infections ........ 460–465 69 5 3 – – 1 1 62 36 21

Bronchitis and bronchiolitis ......... 466,490–491 181 35 24 3 1 6 1 142 100 35

Pneumonia and influenza ............. 480–487 1,293 190 131 20 2 19 18 1,067 588 418

Pneumonia ..................... 480–486 1,278 188 129 20 2 19 18 1,054 583 414

Influenza . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 487 15 2 2 – – – – 13 5 4

Remainder of diseases of respiratory

system .................. 470–478,492–519 832 101 60 13 2 12 14 716 410 268

Hernia of abdominal cavity and intestinal obstruction

without mention of hernia ......... 550–553,560 168 21 11 7 – 2 1 139 77 53

Gastritis, duodenitis, and noninfective enteritis and colitis

........................... 535,555–558 176 39 28 2 1 5 3 136 60 66

Remainder of diseases of digestive

system ............. 520–534,536–543,562–579 359 50 33 3 2 6 6 302 189 104

Congenital anomalies ................ 740–759 13,920 2,350 1,533 234 57 268 258 11,051 8,203 2,239

Anencephalus and similar anomalies . . . . . . . . 740 1,077 242 171 24 2 23 22 795 626 113

Spina bifida . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 741 123 27 19 1 – 4 3 94 68 24

Congenital hydrocephalus ............. 742.3 325 61 39 3 4 8 7 250 171 66

Other anomalies of central nervous system

and eye . . . . . . . . . 742.0–742.2,742.4–742.9,743 508 100 68 9 1 8 14 393 286 84

Congenital anomalies of heart ......... 745–746 4,141 646 413 76 13 69 75 3,362 2,509 674

Other congenital anomalies of circulatory

system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 747 1,122 191 121 21 4 24 21 893 588 255

Congenital anomalies of respiratory

system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 748 1,846 255 166 22 7 31 29 1,512 1,121 315

Congenital anomalies of digestive

system ...................... 749–751 214 31 23 1 – 5 2 173 122 40

Congenital anomalies of genitourinary

system ...................... 752–753 831 105 66 12 4 10 13 701 563 111

Congenital anomalies of musculoskeletal

system ...................... 754–756 1,016 179 112 21 4 23 19 791 625 138

Down’s syndrome .................. 758.0 157 33 24 2 – 6 1 118 83 30

Other chromosomal anomalies ...... 758.1–758.9 1,315 238 162 15 10 27 24 1,023 759 190

All other and unspecified congenital

anomalies .................. 744,757,759 1,245 242 149 27 8 30 28 946 682 199

Certain conditions originating in the

perinatal period ................... 760–779 30,855 4,420 2,694 640 113 515 458 24,927 14,414 9,601

Newborn affected by maternal conditions which

may be unrelated to present pregnancy . . . . . 760 178 33 18 9 – 3 3 137 78 48

Newborn affected by maternal complications of

pregnancy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 761 2,114 210 121 24 15 22 28 1,776 1,114 612

40
Table 12. Infant deaths from 61 selected causes by Hispanic origin of mother and by race of mother for mothers of non-Hispanic

origin: Total of 20 States and the District of Columbia, 1985–87 birth cohorts—Con.

Cause of death

Ninth Revision International

Classification of Diseases, 1975

All

origins1

Origin of mother

Hispanic Non-Hispanic

Total Mexican

Puerto

Rican Cuban

Central

and

South

American

Other

and

unknown

Hispanic Total2 White Black

Newborn affected by complications of placenta, cord,

and membranes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 762 1,300 137 97 12 4 12 12 1,095 719 339

Newborn affected by other complications of labor

and delivery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 763 135 17 7 5 – 3 2 110 70 38

Slow fetal growth and fetal malnutrition . . . . . . 764 36 4 2 1 – 1 – 30 19 11

Disorders relating to short gestation and

unspecified low birthweight . . . . . . . . . . . . . 765 5,611 729 409 119 27 99 75 4,588 2,216 2,228

Disorders relating to long gestation and high

birthweight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 766 1 – – – – – – 1 1 –

Birth trauma . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 767 468 73 46 9 1 10 7 376 235 126

Intrauterine hypoxia and birth asphyxia . . . . . . 768 1,579 244 164 24 5 21 30 1,274 754 469

Fetal distress in liveborn infant ...... 768.2–768.4 317 53 41 1 2 6 3 249 168 66

Birth asphyxia ................. 768.5–768.9 1,262 191 123 23 3 15 27 1,025 586 403

Respiratory distress syndrome . . . . . . . . . . . . 769 6,094 1,001 648 133 20 104 96 4,810 3,072 1,574

Other respiratory conditions of newborn . . . . . . 770 6,070 905 562 139 18 85 101 4,881 2,914 1,768

Infections specific to the perinatal period . . . . . 771 1,515 201 122 19 9 25 26 1,248 767 431

Neonatal hemorrhage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 772 619 113 66 18 1 16 12 484 271 187

Hemolytic disease of newborn, due to

isoimmunization and other perinatal

jaundice ...................... 773–774 73 10 8 1 – – 1 58 40 15

Syndrome of ‘‘infant of a diabetic mother’’ and

neonatal diabetes mellitus ......... 775.0–775.1 11 2 2 – – – – 9 5 4

Hemorrhagic disease of newborn ......... 776.0 5 1 – 1 – – – 4 3 1

All other and ill-defined conditions originating in

the perinatal period ...... 775.2–775.9,776.1–779 5,046 740 422 126 13 114 65 4,046 2,136 1,750

Symptoms, signs, and ill-defined

conditions ...................... 780–799 10,068 1,162 698 175 32 101 156 8,636 5,427 2,833

Sudden infant death syndrome .......... 798.0 8,440 940 591 115 24 74 136 7,281 4,697 2,258

Symptoms, signs, and all other ill-defined

conditions .............. 780–797,798.1–799 1,628 222 107 60 8 27 20 1,355 730 575

Accidents and adverse effects ........ E800–E949 1,542 237 183 21 4 10 19 1,266 824 385

Inhalation and ingestion of food or other object

causing obstruction of respiratory tract or

suffocation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E911–E912 249 35 30 1 – 3 1 209 132 64

Accidental mechanical suffocation ........ E913 307 33 20 5 1 2 5 268 188 70

Other accidental causes and adverse

effects .............. E800–E910,E914–E949 986 169 133 15 3 5 13 789 504 251

Homicide ..................... E960–E969 406 53 29 9 – 6 9 336 169 153

Child battering and other maltreatment ..... E967 150 21 11 3 – 3 4 126 64 58

Other homocide ......... E960–E966,E968–E969 256 32 18 6 – 3 5 210 105 95

All other causes ................... Residual 3,134 479 321 48 9 47 54 2,551 1,607 818

1Origin of mother not stated included in ‘‘all origins’’ but not distributed among origin categories.

2Includes races other than white and black.

41
Appendix

Contents

Technical notes on methods. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Nature and sources of data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

The Linked Birth/Infant Death Data set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Ethnicity and race classification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Selection of States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Computation of rates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Cause-of-death classification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Random variation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Rates and ratios . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

42
Appendix

Technical notes on methods

Nature and sources of data

Data shown in this report are based on information from

birth and death certificates filed in the 50 States and the

District of Columbia. Mortality statistics are based on information coded by the National Center for Health Statistics

(NCHS) from copies of original birth and death certificates

received from the State registration offices and on State-coded

data provided to NCHS through the Vital Statistics Cooperative Program (VSCP). These data are compiled by NCHS and

provided to researchers through various public-use computer

data tapes. This report was based on the U.S. Linked Birth/

Infant Death Data Set for 1985, 1986, and 1987.

Concurrent with the 1978 revision of the U.S. Standard

Certificates of Birth and Death, NCHS recommended that

States add items to identify the ethnic origin of the decedent.

All reporting States selected one of two basic formats. The

first format was an open-ended item. The second format

specifically asked if the decedent was of Hispanic origin and,

if so, the specific origin (Mexican, Puerto Rican, etc.) was to

be indicated.

The Linked Birth/Infant Death Data Set

The Linked Birth/Infant Death Data Set is an important

resource for studying infant mortality patterns in the United

States. In this data set, the death certificate is linked with the

corresponding birth certificate for each infant who dies in the

United States (20). The purpose of this linkage is to utilize the

many additional variables available from the birth certificate

in infant mortality analysis, as well as to utilize the more

accurate race and ethnic data from the birth certificate in

analyzing mortality differentials by race and ethnicity. Information on all of the approximately 4 million live births in the

United States each year is included in the data set to enable

researchers to compare deaths with survivors and to facilitate

the computation of rates. Linked files are currently available

for the 1983–91 birth cohorts.

The linked file is constructed as a birth cohort file, with a

one-to-one match of birth and death records from the NCHS

annual Natality and Mortality files. The linked file itself

consists of two separate files. The first, the numerator file, is

made up of the matched birth and death records of all

deceased infants from a given cohort; the second, the denominator file, consists of the natality file for a given year plus a

few late-filed birth records needed to match with infant death

records. For the 1985–87 birth cohorts, approximately 2 percent of the death certificates could not be linked to their

corresponding birth certificates, resulting in an underestimate

of infant mortality by about 2 percent compared with the main

vital statistics mortality file.

The linked file resulted from a joint endeavor by NCHS,

the States, and the Association of Vital Records and Health

Statistics. After an initial feasibility project in 1985 that linked

1982 births with their corresponding infant death records in

nine States, State and national linked files for the 1983–86

birth cohorts were created and evaluated. Beginning with the

1987 birth cohort, linked files are now produced on an annual

basis by NCHS as a part of the annual VSCP.

Vital statistics natality and mortality data on which the

linked file is based have been coded according to uniform

coding specifications, have met NCHS quality control standards, have been edited and reviewed, and are published in

Vital Statistics of the United States, Vol. I, Natality, and Vol. II

Mortality (29).

While the national linked file includes linked statistical

records for births and deaths that occurred in the United States

to U.S. residents and nonresidents, only data for U.S. residents

are analyzed and presented in this report. Residence is determined by the mother’s usual place of residence at the time of

the infant’s birth. Excluded from the linked file are deaths that

occurred outside the 50 States and the District of Columbia to

infants born in the 50 States and the District of Columbia,

deaths that occurred in the 50 States and the District of

Columbia to infants born outside the 50 States and the District

of Columbia, and births and deaths that occurred outside the

50 States and the District of Columbia to residents of the 50

States and the District of Columbia.

For 1986 only, the births in this report are undercounted by

less than 0.01 percent relative to those presented in Vital Statistics

of the United States, Part I, Natality, due to a data tape

inconsistency. Since the undercount occurred randomly among

the States and specific race and Hispanic-origin groups, its

effect on the infant mortality rates presented here is negligible.

Ethnicity and race classification

Infants were tabulated according to the race and Hispanic

origin of the mother as reported on the birth certificate. When

the Hispanic origin of the mother was not stated, it was

imputed as either Mexican, Cuban, or Puerto Rican if the

place of birth of the mother was Mexico, Cuba, or Puerto Rico

43
as reported on the birth certificate. The addition of these

mothers born in Mexico, Cuba, and Puerto Rico resulted in a

shift of 0.12–0.15 percent of births from the Other and unknown

Hispanic and Not stated categories into the Mexican, Puerto

Rican, or Cuban groups. This imputation was done for the

purposes of this report to minimize the number of infants with

the Hispanic origin of the mother not stated and differs from

the procedures used in Vital Statistics of the United States, Vol.

I, Natality (29).

Selection of States

This report utilizes mortality data from the 20 States plus

the District of Columbia where the following three conditions

were met:

+ an item on Hispanic or ethnic origin of the mother was

reported on the birth certificate

+ the reporting of Hispanic origin from the birth certificate

was at least 90 percent complete over the 1985–87 time

period based on the State of occurrence, and

+ the wording of the ethnicity question on the death certificate was comparable among the States.

The States included in the study are: Arizona, Arkansas,

California, Colorado, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia,

Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Maine, Mississippi, Nebraska,

New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Texas, Utah, and

Wyoming. Two States, California and Texas, did not obtain

information on maternal education on the birth certificate, so

they are excluded from the educational attainment analysis

(tables C and 4).

Computation of rates

In computing infant mortality rates, deaths of unknown

(‘‘not stated’’) origin were not distributed among the specific

Hispanic and non-Hispanic groups. Because the percent of

infant deaths of unknown origin was 4.0 percent and the

percent of live births of unknown origin was 2.9 percent,

infant mortality rates by specified Hispanic origin and race for

non-Hispanic origin may underestimate the true rates by about

1.1 percent due to the exclusion of not stated births and deaths.

Birth cohort infant mortality rates are calculated by

dividing the number of infant deaths to the birth cohort by the

number of live births in the cohort and are presented as rates

per 1,000 live births in the cohort. In contrast, period infant

mortality rates based on annual data are calculated by dividing

the number of infant deaths in a calendar year by the number

of live births registered for the same period and are also

presented as rates per 1,000 live births. Cohort rates more

accurately measure mortality risk than period rates because the

denominator includes the actual population of infants at risk of

death (30). Therefore, infant mortality rates in this report are

computed on a cohort basis only.

Cause-of-death classification

The mortality statistics presented in this report were

compiled in accordance with World Health Organization (WHO)

regulations, which specify the classification system used by

member nations for classifying causes of death, the form of

the medical certifications used to collect cause-of-death data,

and the procedures used in coding cause-of-death data.

This report classified the cause of death according to the

Ninth Revision International Classification of Diseases (31)

and data are based solely on the underlying cause of death.

The underlying cause was defined by WHO as the disease or

injury that initiated the train of events leading directly to death

or as the circumstances of the accident or violence that

produced the fatal injury. The underlying cause was selected

from the conditions entered by the physician in the cause-ofdeath section of the death certificate. When more than one

cause or condition was entered by the physician, the underlying cause was determined by the sequence of conditions on the

certificate, provisions of the International Classification of

Diseases (ICD), and associated selection rules.

Cause-of-death data presented in this publication were

coded by procedures outlined in issues of Part 2a of the NCHS

Instruction Manual (32).

Random variation

Although the mortality data in this report are not subject

to sampling error, they may be affected by random variation in

the number of deaths involved. When the number of events is

small (perhaps less than 100) and the probability of such an

event is small, considerable caution must be observed in

interpreting the data. Such infrequent events may be assumed

to follow a Poisson probability distribution. For this distribution, a simple approximation may be used to estimate the

confidence interval, as follows:

If N is the number of registered deaths in the population

and R is the corresponding rate, the chances are 19 in 20

(approximate 95-percent confidence interval) that

1. N–2 √N and N+2 √N

covers the ‘‘true’’ number of events.

2. R–2

R

√N

and R+2

R

√N

covers the ‘‘true’’ rate.

If the rate R1 corresponding to N1 events is compared with

the rate R2 corresponding to N2 events, the difference between

the two rates may be regarded as statistically significant if it

exceeds

3. 2Œ R1

2

N1

+

R2

2

N2

Additional information on random variation may be found

in the Technical appendix of Vital Statistics of the United

States, Volume II, Mortality, Part A (29).

Rates and ratios

An asterisk is shown in place of a rate based on fewer

than 20 deaths. These rates have a relative standard error of

23 percent or more and are, therefore, considered statistically

unreliable.

44
Vital and Health Statistics

series descriptions

SERIES 1. Programs and Collection Procedures—These reports

describe the data collection programs of the National Center

for Health Statistics. They include descriptions of the methods

used to collect and process the data, definitions, and other

material necessary for understanding the data.

SERIES 2. Data Evaluation and Methods Research—These reports

are studies of new statistical methods and include analytical

techniques, objective evaluations of reliability of collected

data, and contributions to statistical theory. These studies also

include experimental tests of new survey methods and

comparisons of U.S. methodology with those of other

countries.

SERIES 3. Analytical and Epidemiological Studies—These reports

present analytical or interpretive studies based on vital and

health statistics. These reports carry the analyses further than

the expository types of reports in the other series.

SERIES 4. Documents and Committee Reports—These are final

reports of major committees concerned with vital and health

statistics and documents such as recommended model vital

registration laws and revised birth and death certificates.

SERIES 5. International Vital and Health Statistics Reports—These

reports are analytical or descriptive reports that compare U.S.

vital and health statistics with those of other countries or

present other international data of relevance to the health

statistics system of the United States.

SERIES 6. Cognition and Survey Measurement—These reports are

from the National Laboratory for Collaborative Research in

Cognition and Survey Measurement. They use methods of

cognitive science to design, evaluate, and test survey

instruments.

SERIES 10. Data From the National Health Interview Survey—These

reports contain statistics on illness; unintentional injuries;

disability; use of hospital, medical, and other health services;

and a wide range of special current health topics covering

many aspects of health behaviors, health status, and health

care utilization. They are based on data collected in a

continuing national household interview survey.

SERIES 11. Data From the National Health Examination Survey, the

National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys, and

the Hispanic Health and Nutrition Examination Survey—

Data from direct examination, testing, and measurement on

representative samples of the civilian noninstitutionalized

population provide the basis for (1) medically defined total

prevalence of specific diseases or conditions in the United

States and the distributions of the population with respect to

physical, physiological, and psychological characteristics, and

(2) analyses of trends and relationships among various

measurements and between survey periods.

SERIES 12. Data From the Institutionalized Population Surveys—

Discontinued in 1975. Reports from these surveys are

included in Series 13.

SERIES 13. Data From the National Health Care Survey—These

reports contain statistics on health resources and the public’s

use of health care resources including ambulatory, hospital,

and long-term care services based on data collected directly

from health care providers and provider records.

SERIES 14. Data on Health Resources: Manpower and Facilities—

Discontinued in 1990. Reports on the numbers, geographic

distribution, and characteristics of health resources are now

included in Series 13.

SERIES 15. Data From Special Surveys—These reports contain

statistics on health and health-related topics collected in

special surveys that are not part of the continuing data

systems of the National Center for Health Statistics.

SERIES 16. Compilations of Advance Data From Vital and Health

Statistics—Advance Data Reports provide early release of

information from the National Center for Health Statistics’

health and demographic surveys. They are compiled in the

order in which they are published. Some of these releases

may be followed by detailed reports in Series 10–13.

SERIES 20. Data on Mortality—These reports contain statistics on

mortality that are not included in regular, annual, or monthly

reports. Special analyses by cause of death, age, other

demographic variables, and geographic and trend analyses

are included.

SERIES 21. Data on Natality, Marriage, and Divorce—These reports

contain statistics on natality, marriage, and divorce that are

not included in regular, annual, or monthly reports. Special

analyses by health and demographic variables and

geographic and trend analyses are included.

SERIES 22. Data From the National Mortality and Natality Surveys—

Discontinued in 1975. Reports from these sample surveys,

based on vital records, are now published in Series 20 or 21.

SERIES 23. Data From the National Survey of Family Growth—

These reports contain statistics on factors that affect birth

rates, including contraception, infertility, cohabitation,

marriage, divorce, and remarriage; adoption; use of medical

care for family planning and infertility; and related maternal

and infant health topics. These statistics are based on

national surveys of childbearing age.

SERIES 24. Compilations of Data on Natality, Mortality, Marriage,

Divorce, and Induced Terminations of Pregnancy—

These include advance reports of births, deaths, marriages,

and divorces based on final data from the National Vital

Statistics System that were published as supplements to the

Monthly Vital Statistics Report (MVSR). These reports provide

highlights and summaries of detailed data subsequently

published in Vital Statistics of the United States. Other

supplements to the MVSR published here provide selected

findings based on final data from the National Vital Statistics

System and may be followed by detailed reports in Series 20

or 21.

For answers to questions about this report or for a list of reports published

in these series, contact:

Data Dissemination Branch

National Center for Health Statistics

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Public Health Service

6525 Belcrest Road, Room 1064

Hyattsville, MD 20782

(301) 436–8500

E-mail: nchsquery@nch10a.em.cdc.gov

Internet: http://www.cdc.gov/nchswww/nchshome.htm
DHHS Publication No. (PHS) 95-1855, Series 20, No. 27

5-1417 (10/95)

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