Using Uncommon Data to Promote Common Ground for Reducing Infant Mortality

High rates of infant mortality are well documented in the United States, compared with those of peer nations. Shocking and unacceptable rates of infant mortality among African Americans and Native Americans compared with whites have yet to generate investments that reflect the severity of these inequities. It is possible that these inequities persist, in part, because of public perception and media coverage that efforts to reduce these high rates are of less importance among people and places that identify as white. Policymakers in such places, and the people who elect them, may be less supportive of public health and medical care measures to prevent infant mortality, since they may not think them to be relevant. It is important, though, to also examine the not commonly reported absolute numbers of infant deaths along with the more commonly reported rates,2 and to ask how might all mothers join forces to save these babies?Using linked birth and deaths certificates from the Wisconsin Interactive Statistics on Health (WISH) data portal as a case study, I looked at infant deaths by the mother’s race/ethnicity, level of education, and geographic region, and explored three racial/ethnic groups: non‐Hispanic white, non‐Hispanic black, and Hispanic; hereinafter referred to as white, black, and Hispanic. Insufficient data for Native Americans prevented regional analysis of outcomes for this group. Level of education was dichotomized into “high school graduate or less” and “some college or more,” yielding similarly sized subpopulations. WISH provides data by five geographic regions: Southern, Southeastern, Western, Northern, and Northeastern. The cities of Milwaukee, Racine, and Kenosha were removed from the Southeastern region to create a sixth geographic region called MRK. Owing to small numbers of deaths for infants in the various subgroups, a 5‐year average (ie, 2012‐2016) of data was used. Those with missing data for race/ethnicity or education were retained in the state and regional total number of deaths and infant mortality rates.