North Carolina's
infant mortality rate remained at 8.2 deaths per 1,000 live births in
2003, unchanged from 2002, the lowest in the state's history, state health
officials said Thursday.
But North Carolina still ranked 40th in the nation in infant mortality
in 2003, according to a preliminary report from the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention. Ten states had higher 2003 infant death rates than
North Carolina -- Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Georgia, Louisiana,
Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, South Carolina and Tennessee.
The rate for the United States was 6.7 deaths per 1,000 live births,
based on the preliminary data.
"While we've made good progress in reducing North Carolina's infant
mortality rate -- we are no longer the highest in the nation as we were 15
years ago -- there is still a lot of room for improvement," said state
Health Director Leah Devlin.
