Trends in infant, child, and teen mortality
Death rates for children have fallen dramatically since 1980. For example, rates for infants (under 1 year) fell from 1,288.3 to 687 per 100,000 from 1980 to 2001. From 2001 to 2005, however, rates rose, reaching 710.2 infant deaths per 100,000 in 2005 (Figure 1). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention attributed the increase to a rise in the number of babies born with very low birthweight.[1] From 2005 to 2011, infant death rates resumed a downward trend, declining to 600.1 deaths per 100,000 in 2011. Since then, the rate has been relatively stable; however, at 567 per 100,000 in 2017, it is the lowest on record.

From 1980 to 2017, death rates for children ages 1 to 4 dropped from 63.9 to 24.3 per 100,000, while rates for children ages 5 to 14 dropped from 30.6 to 13.6 per 100,000. The steepest decline in both groups occurred from 1980 to 1985. Death rates for teens ages 15 to 19 also declined notably from 1980 to 2013, from 97.9 to 44.8 per 100,000. However, since 2013, their rates have been increasing, reaching 51.5 in 2017 .
