OBJECTIVE Ethnic disparities in infant mortality have been consistently documented in the United States, but these disparities are poorly understood. Although the infant mortality rate in the United States has fallen to record low rates, since 1971 the ethnic disparity between black and white infants has remained unchanged or increased. In 2001, the infant mortality rate among black infants was...

OBJECTIVES This report presents 2009 period infant mortality statistics from the linked birth/infant death data set (linked file) by maternal and infant characteristics. The linked file differs from the mortality file, which is based entirely on death certificate data. METHODS Descriptive tabulations of data are presented and interpreted. RESULTS The infant mortality rate in the United Stat...

Introduction  Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) is a disease which causes unexpected death of infants aged less than 1 year. Given the undeniable role of parents in the presence or absence of SIDS risk factors, the present study aimed to studythe prevalence and the relationship between characteristics and conditions of parent’s infants with SIDS risk factors. Materials and Methods  In this cr...

From the Department of Pathology, Chil­ dren’s Hospital, and Harvard Medical School — both in Boston (H.C.K.); and the Department of Pediatrics, Washing­ ton University School of Medicine, St. Louis (B.T.T.). Address reprint requests to Dr. Kinney at the Department of Pathol­ ogy, Enders Bldg. 1112, Children’s Hospi­ tal Boston, 300 Longwood Ave., Boston, MA 02115, or at hannah.kinney@childrens...

BACKGROUND: Infant necropsies are important for identifying cause of death. Recently issued guidelines have recommended investigations to be performed following sudden unexpected death in infants. AIMS: To evaluate the quality and value of infant postmortem reporting. METHODS: Postmortem reports from 1994-1996 and 1998-2000 in Ireland were evaluated using the National Sudden Infant Death Regist...

Objective To examine the proposition that a used infant mattress is associated with an increased risk of sudden infant death syndrome. Design Case-control study. Setting Scotland (population 5.1 million, with about 53 000 births a year). Participants 131 infants who died of sudden infant death syndrome between 1 January 1996 and 31 May 2000 and 278 age, season, and obstetric unit matched contro...