U.S. Maternal And Infant Mortality: More Signs Of Public Health Neglect The U.S. is the only industrialized nation in the world where maternal mortality is rising. And with respect to infant mortality, the U.S. ranks 33 out of 36 OECD nations, with 5.9 infant deaths per 1,000 live births. In the U.S. in 2018 21,000 infants died.