Infant Mortality and Native Hawaiians/Pacific Islanders

While the overall infant mortality rate for Native Hawaiians/Pacific Islanders is comparable to the white population, disparities still exist among Pacific Islander sub-populations. Data from national surveillance reports is limited.

• Native Hawaiians/Pacific Islanders have almost twice the infant mortality rate as compared to non-Hispanic whites in 2018.
• In 2019, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander mothers were 4.6 times more likely to receive late or no prenatal care as compared to non-Hispanic white mothers.
• According to CDC data, the infant mortality rate on the island of Guam was 2.5 times higher than that of non-Hispanic white infants born on the mainland of the United States, in 2018.

Infant Mortality Rate

Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander*	White*	All Races	Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander / White Ratio
9.4	4.6	5.8	2.0
Infant mortality rate per 1,000 live births, 2018

Country/Territory	Infant Mortality Rate	Ratio vs. White
White (U.S. National)	4.6	--
Guam	11.7	2.5
Estimated infant mortality rate per 1,000 live births, by territory, 2018

Country/Territory	Infant Mortality Rate	Ratio vs. White
White (U.S. National, ethnicity not defined)	5.2	--
Guam	11.7	2.3
Marshall Islands	22.2	4.3
Northern Mariana Islands	12.8	2.5
Palau	>11.5	2.2
American Samoa	10.1	1.9
Federated States of Micronesia	22.5	4.3
Estimated infant mortality rate per 1,000 live births, by territory, 2021

Leading Causes of Infant Mortality

National data not available at this time.

Characteristics of Mother

Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander	White	Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander / White Ratio
50.0	82.8	0.6
Percentage of mothers who received prenatal care (first trimester), 2019

Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander	White	Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander / White Ratio
20.5	4.5	4.6
Percentage of mothers who received late or no prenatal care, 2019

Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander	White	Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander / White Ratio
3.3	8.8	0.4
Percentage of mothers who smoked during pregnancy, 2019

*All data in the above surveys relate to non-Hispanic Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander and non-Hispanic whites.

Race of Mother	Percent	Ratio vs. White
White	4.3	--
Total Asian	5.7	1.3
Filipino	3.7	0.9
Native Hawaiian	8.8	2.0
Other Asian or Pacific Islander	6.8	1.6
Percentage of mothers who received late or no prenatal care, 2014**

**More recent data is not available from CDC at this time