A striking pattern has emerged in infant mortality data that challenges common assumptions about immigrant health outcomes. Research analyzing over 25 million US births from 2016 to 2022 reveals that babies born to US-born mothers die at significantly higher rates than those born to immigrant mothers, particularly among Black, Hispanic, and White populations.
The disparity is most pronounced in full-term births. US-born Black mothers experienced infant mortality rates of 3.8 deaths per 1,000 full-term births compared to 2.1 among their immigrant counterparts. Similar patterns appeared among Hispanic mothers (1.8 versus 1.5 deaths per 1,000 births) and White mothers (1.9 versus 1.1 deaths per 1,000 births).
Sudden unexpected infant death emerged as a major driver of these disparities. US-born mothers across multiple racial groups showed nearly three times higher odds of losing infants to sudden death compared to immigrant mothers. The study found consistent differences in death rates for sudden infant death syndrome, unexplained causes, and accidental suffocation.
Among immigrant mothers, congenital heart malformations ranked as a leading cause of death, while sudden infant death dominated among US-born mothers. The researchers suggest that differences in sleep practices, tobacco exposure, and infant feeding behaviors may contribute to these patterns.
These findings highlight how maternal nativity intersects with race and ethnicity to shape infant survival, revealing health disparities that persist even among mothers of the same racial background.
See: “Maternal Nativity, Race, and Ethnicity and Infant Mortality in the US” (January 6, 2026)
