Wisconsin Infant Mortality Rate Unchanged, Teen Births Drop

New data from state health officials shows overall infant mortality rates didn’t change last year but teen births are on the decline. The Department of Health Services’ recent Annual Wisconsin Birth and Infant Mortality Report shows there were 67,000 live births last year in Wisconsin.

The number of teens giving birth declined in 2015, continuing a downward trend. The teen birth rate (16.4 births per 1,000 females) has declined by more than half since the year 2000.

The rate of babies dying before age 1 in Wisconsin stayed the same last year compared to 2014 (5.7 deaths per 1,000 live births). And it’s lower than the national infant mortality rate. Whites in Wisconsin had the lowest infant mortality rate and African-Americans the highest.