US infant mortality rates drop 15 percent

America’s infant mortality rates have reached new lows, according to a report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released Tuesday.

The number of infant deaths per 1,000 live births fell 15 percent between 2005 and 2014 according to the analysis, which was first reported by CNN. There were 5.82 infant deaths per every 1,000 live births in America in 2014, down from a rate of 6.86 in 2005.

T.J. Matthews, the report’s author, said Tuesday its statistics largely show evidence of a public health success nationwide.

“Overall, 33 states and the District of Columbia had significant declines,” said Matthews, a demographer at the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics.

{mosads}“Some states with fairly high rates, such as South Carolina and Mississippi, are in those categories where they had some of the sharpest declines.”

The CDC found that four of the five leading causes of infant death shrank during the same window of time.

Congenital malformations, the leading cause, dropped 11 percent, while deaths from short gestation and low birthweight shrank 8 percent apiece.

Deaths due to maternal complications declined 7 percent, and cases of sudden infant death syndrome (or SIDS) decreased 29 percent.

The CDC’s analysis added that deaths caused by unintentional injuries rose 11 percent, reaching 29.2 infant deaths per 100,000 in 2014 after being 26.2 per 100,000 in 2005.