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Maine
Statistics on children, youth and families in Maine from the Annie E. Casey Foundation and the Maine Children's Alliance
Infant mortality, detailed
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Note: Non-consecutive years appear adjacent in the trend line
because one or more years have been deselected.
because one or more years have been deselected.
Why This Indicator Matters
Infant mortality is an important marker of the overall health of a society. Structural factors affecting the health of entire populations have an impact on the mortality rate of infants. In 2020, the infant mortality rate in the United States was 5.4 per 1,000 live births. The most common causes of infant death in the United States were the following: birth defects, preterm birth and low birth weight, sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), pregnancy complications and accidents. CDC Facts about Infant Mortality
What the data shows
According to the National CDC, in 2020, Maine had a higher one-year infant mortality rate than all of the other New England states. 2020 Infant Mortality Rates by State In 2020, Vermont was number 1 in the nation in 2020 with the lowest infant mortality rate. Only 15 states had rates higher than Maine for the 1-year rate.
In terms of trends, infant mortality statewide was lowest for the five-year period ending in 2000 and ending in 2003 at 5.0. Since 2003, infant mortality was increasing, particularly between 2011-2015, when the rate increased each year. However, there is a new trend in a positive direction. For each of the last six 5-year time periods, the state infant mortality rate has gone down. The 2017-2021 rate of 5.6 is the lowest since 2002-2006.
For the most recent 5-year period, 2017-2021, the counties with the highest infant mortality rates were Franklin, Lincoln and Somerset with 5-yr rates of 7.9, 7.5 and 7.0 per 1,000 births respectively. The counties with the lowest rates per 1,000 births, based on 5-year averages for 2017-2021 were Washington, Cumberland and Androscoggin.
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What the data shows
According to the National CDC, in 2020, Maine had a higher one-year infant mortality rate than all of the other New England states. 2020 Infant Mortality Rates by State In 2020, Vermont was number 1 in the nation in 2020 with the lowest infant mortality rate. Only 15 states had rates higher than Maine for the 1-year rate.
In terms of trends, infant mortality statewide was lowest for the five-year period ending in 2000 and ending in 2003 at 5.0. Since 2003, infant mortality was increasing, particularly between 2011-2015, when the rate increased each year. However, there is a new trend in a positive direction. For each of the last six 5-year time periods, the state infant mortality rate has gone down. The 2017-2021 rate of 5.6 is the lowest since 2002-2006.
For the most recent 5-year period, 2017-2021, the counties with the highest infant mortality rates were Franklin, Lincoln and Somerset with 5-yr rates of 7.9, 7.5 and 7.0 per 1,000 births respectively. The counties with the lowest rates per 1,000 births, based on 5-year averages for 2017-2021 were Washington, Cumberland and Androscoggin.
Definition and Source
PROVIDER
Definition
The rate of deaths of infants under 1 year of age in comparison to live births occurring during the same time period. The rate is per 1,000 live births. The data are reported by place of residence, not the place of death. Data is reported as 5-year rates, where the year shown refers to the last year, i.e. 2021 refers to 2017-2021, and 2020 refers to 2016-2020 and so on.
Data Source
Notes
Data represent five-year averages, with the last year of the five-year spread indicated here: 2021 represents the annual average of the data from 2017-2021, 2020 represents the annual average of data from 2016-2020, etc.
Uploaded January 2023.
Uploaded January 2023.
Last Updated
January 2023