<P> The vast majority of research conducted in the late twentieth and early twenty - first century indicates that African - American infants are more than twice as likely to die in their first year of life than white infants . Although following a decline from 13.63 to 11.46 deaths per 1000 live births from 2005 to 2010, non-Hispanic black mothers continued to report a rate 2.2 times as high as that for non-Hispanic white mothers . </P> <P> Contemporary research findings have demonstrated that nationwide racial disparities in infant mortality are linked to the experiential state of the mother and that these disparities cannot be totally accounted for by socio - economic, behavioral or genetic factors . The Hispanic paradox, an effect observed in other health indicators, appears in the infant mortality rate, as well . Hispanic mothers see an IMR comparable to non-Hispanic white mothers, despite lower educational attainment and economic status . A study in North Carolina, for example, concluded that "white women who did not complete high school have a lower infant mortality rate than black college graduates ." According to Mustillo's CARDIA (Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults) study, "self reported experiences of racial discrimination were associated with pre-term and low - birthweight deliveries, and such experiences may contribute to black - white disparities in prenatal outcomes ." Likewise, dozens of population - based studies indicate that "the subjective, or perceived experience of racial discrimination is strongly associated with an increased risk of infant death and with poor health prospects for future generations of African Americans ." </P> <P> While earlier parts of this article have addressed the racial differences in infant deaths, a closer look into the effects of racial differences within the country is necessary to view discrepancies . Non-Hispanic Black women lead all other racial groups in IMR with a rate of 11.3, while the Infant Mortality Rate among white women is 5.1 . Black women in the United States experience a shorter life expectancy than white women, so while a higher IMR amongst black women is not necessarily out of line, it is still rather disturbing . While the popular argument leads to the idea that due to the trend of a lower socio - economic status had by black women there is in an increased likelihood of a child suffering . While this does correlate, the theory that it is the contributing factor falls apart when we look at Latino IMR in the United States . Latino people are almost just as likely to experience poverty as blacks in the U.S., however, the Infant Mortality Rate of Latinos is much closer to white women than it is to black women . The Poverty Rates of blacks and Latinos are 24.1% and 21.4% respectively . If there is a direct correlation, then the IMR of these two groups should be rather similar, however, blacks have an IMR double that of Latinos . Also, as black women move out of poverty or never experienced it in the first place, their IMR is not much lower than their counterparts experiencing higher levels of poverty . </P> <P> Some believe black women are predisposed to a higher IMR, meaning ancestrally speaking, all black women from African descent should experience an elevated rate . This theory is quickly disproven by looking at women of African descent who have immigrated to the United States . These women who come from a completely different social context are not prone to the incredibly high IMR experienced by American - born black women . </P>

Why is infant mortality rate high in india