NCHS data brief
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In the United States, different racial and ethnic groups have very different infant mortality patterns. When assessing the relative contribution of the percentage of preterm births and gestational age-specific infant mortality rates to racial and ethnic infant mortality differences, we found that for non-Hispanic black women, 78 percent of their elevated infant mortality rate compared with non-Hispanic white women was due to their higher percentage of preterm births, while 22 percent was due to higher gestational age-specific infant mortality rates (primarily at 34 weeks of gestation or more). For Puerto Rican women, their elevated infant mortality rate compared with non-Hispanic white women was entirely due to their higher percentage of preterm births. ⋯ In addition, because the percentage of preterm births for all U. S. racial and ethnic groups is higher than in other developed countries, all U. S. racial and ethnic groups might benefit from prematurity prevention efforts (8,9).