September is also National Sickle Cell Awareness Month! Find out more about NICHQ’s work to improve access to care and resources for children living with sickle cell disease and their families. Find out more.

National Infant Mortality Awareness Banner

National Infant Mortality Awareness Month

During National Infant Mortality Awareness Month (NIMAM), we bring awareness to the rate of babies who die each year before they reach their first birthday. The infant mortality rate is an important marker of the well-being of infants, children, and pregnant people because it is associated with a variety of factors, such as maternal health, quality and access to health services and medical technology, poverty and socioeconomic conditions, community health, and public health practices.

Improving Birth Outcomes and Celebrating More First Birthdays

As public health professionals, physicians, and many other types of birthing care providers, together we can reduce infant mortality rates by focusing on social determinants of health, newborn screening and early access to treatment and care for rare diseases, and prevention of preterm and early term births.

In recognition of NIMAM, we’ve put together a collection of social media posts and graphics that can be used to raise awareness about infant mortality and make sure that families are equipped with the tools to live healthier lives. View our online social media toolkit with ready-to-share graphics and posts to use on your own social channels. Make sure to tag @NICHQ so we can like and share.

View Toolkit

In partnership with HRSA MCHB, NICHQ and the NHSA provide a comprehensive capacity-building assistance training program for all Healthy Start programs. The training program includes technical assistance on high-priority topics, such as safe sleep, fatherhood, and breastfeeding.

Celebrating Day 366 with Healthy Start

Throughout the month of September, Healthy Start projects join in bringing awareness to the issue and importance of reducing infant mortality in recognition of National Infant Mortality Awareness Month (NIMAM).

On September 1, 2022, National Healthy Start Association (NHSA) officially declared that September is National Infant Mortality Awareness Month (NIMAM)

The NHSA campaign, Celebrate Day 366…Every Baby Deserves a Chance, celebrates babies living beyond the first year of life.

View Campaign Resources

Black pregnant person smiling with Black bald male doctor

Reducing Early and Preterm Births

Through our Collaborative Improvement and Innovation Network to Reduce Infant Mortality (Infant Mortality CoIIN), NICHQ engaged 51 states and jurisdictions and more than 2,800 federal, state, and local leaders, public and private agencies, professionals, and communities to use quality improvement, innovation, and collaborative learning to address this significant public health issue.

The Infant Mortality CoIIN initiative, completed in 2017, focused on six strategic areas: SIDS/SUID/Safe Sleep, smoking cessation, preconception/interconception health, social determinants of health, prevention of preterm and early term births, risk-appropriate perinatal care (perinatal regionalization)

Read our case study about states' Efforts to Address Preterm Birth Rates.
Watch the accompanying webinar where States Share Interventions, Policy Efforts, & Emerging Issues

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Related Articles about Infant Mortality

Communicate, Collaborate and Innovate to Reduce Infant Mortality

Compared to other Western countries, infant mortality in the U.S. is shockingly high. High infant mortality is a social problem that can only be solved through massive collaboration and out-of-the-box innovation.

Data Drives Vermont’s Focus on Infant Mortality Reduction

With an infant mortality rate of 4.4 per 1,000 births, Vermont has one of the lowest infant mortality rates in the country, but, the Vermont Department of Health (VDH) knows there is always room for improvement. As a part of the NICHQ-led Collaborative Improvement and Innovation Network to Reduce Infant Mortality (Infant Mortality CoIIN), NICHQ helped VDH use data to drive discussions and make decisions about where to prioritize its work: smoking cessation and safe sleep awareness.

Delaware Hones in on Medical-Legal Partnerships to Reduce Infant Mortality

Unmet housing needs, lack of access to quality healthcare, financial insecurity, immigration status and family stability are just some of the social determinants of health affecting pregnant women. Many of these stressful situations require legal aid, but healthcare and the law have historically worked separately. Delaware is working to develop medical-legal partnerships (MLPs) to address these stressors in an integrated way and improve health outcomes for women and babies.

Efforts to Reduce Infant Mortality Focus on Underserved Populations

In our special Underserved Population Series, we’ve highlighted teams that have made strides in reaching underserved populations across different strategic focus areas for addressing infant mortality.

How Sharing Data Can Help Cities and States Reduce Infant Mortality

Data sharing is one of the most significant barriers between city and state health departments when it comes to reducing infant mortality. States and cities accumulate a great deal of data at various levels on birth outcomes and maternal care, but they don’t always make it readily available to each other.

Infographic – America’s Problem: Infant Mortality

Although great strides have been made in recent years, infant mortality remains a problem in the United States. The infant mortality rate has declined – dropping 13 percent between 2005 and 2013 – while still leaving the U.S. far behind many industrialized nations.

Investigating a Possible Link Between Substance Abuse and Infant Mortality

Washington state is known for having a low rate of infant mortality—fifth lowest in the U.S. But the state is still actively working on reducing infant mortality even further. In fact, leaders in the state are developing an interesting strategy that targets substance abuse.

Managing Life Stressors Helps to Reduce Infant Mortality

By addressing the underlying causes of infant mortality, in particular, stress, teams hope to reduce infant deaths overall, as well as close the disparity gap between white and black babies. Read on about how two Infant Mortality CoIIN teams are tackling different aspects of stress for pregnant women in their states.

New Toolkit for Addressing Infant Mortality

The infant mortality toolkit supports teams looking to improve infant health in their communities.

What’s Behind NYC's Drastic Decrease in Infant Mortality Rates?

The saying, “if you can make it here you can make it anywhere,” of New York City, holds true for even its youngest members. New York City’s infant mortality rate—4.6 deaths per 1,000 live births in the first year of life—is nearly 30 percent lower than the U.S. rate. What’s the city’s secret? A multi-pronged, multi-sector approach that taps into the power of collaboration.

Building Agency and Self-Efficacy: A Vital Opportunity to Reduce Sleep-Related Infant Deaths

Understanding how to support agency can help health care professionals transform their conversations with families and tap new and innovative approaches. Below, Milt Kotelchuck, PhD, MPH, provides six practical opportunities, drawing on more than three decades of experience working in maternal and child health quality improvement.

Addressing Infant Health Disparities in the American Indian Population Starts by Building Trust with Tribes

Native Americans have rich traditions and beliefs that often conflict with Western healthcare culture. To address disparities in infant health in this vulnerable population, experts say public health and healthcare workers need to build relationships first, then offer advice second.

An African-American Fraternity Alliance is Changing Infant Health Outcomes

In Arkansas, nearly 300 babies die before their first birthday each year. That’s almost a baby every day. Determined to change these numbers and reach communities most affected, the Arkansas Department of Health turned to a nontraditional partner for maternal and infant health: Brothers United, an alliance of African American fraternities.

How can Hospitals Reduce Sleep-Related Infant Deaths?

Improving conversations between health professionals and caregivers can help ensure that more families have the knowledge, skills and self-efficacy to practice safe sleep at every sleep. Right now, hospitals across the country are developing a bundle of evidence-based best to spread and scale. Keep reading for four key takeaways.