Infant mortality is considered an indicator of maternal health and the overall health of a community. It is also a marker of the availability and use of quality health care for pregnant women and infants.

In 2018, the five-year average infant mortality rate was 7.6 per 1,000 live births, down 9% from 2003. This makes Arkansas 48th in the nation. Infant mortality was particularly high among black or African American infants at 11, compared to 5.2 for Hispanics, 6.6 for whites and 7.3 for Asian or Pacific Islanders.

Within the state, five-year infant mortality averages were lowest in Lee County, at 2.1, and highest in Stone County, at 19.4 per 1,000 live births.

Racial disparities in infant mortality emerge from systems that perpetuate structural racism. Higher death rates among infants of color are directly tied to maternal access to prenatal care throughout pregnancy and quality of care. Research has shown that mothers of color are less likely to receive prenatal care in part because they tend to live in communities with fewer health care providers including neonatal services. While women of color from under-resourced communities gain access to health care via Medicaid, they are often underinsured. Discriminatory treatment by health care providers influences whether the health care needs of women of color are adequately addressed, putting mothers and their infants at higher risk of mortality. The racism experienced by expectant mothers of color in their everyday lives at work and in their neighborhoods (e.g. food insecurity, environmental toxins) place mothers and their infants at higher risk of premature death. The overall health of expectant mothers color and access to comprehensive health care including gynecological services before pregnancy also contributes to premature infant death.

National data is from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); state- and county-level data and breakouts by race and ethnicity are from state departments of health. The CDC and Arkansas identify individuals by their race (white, black, etc.) separately from their ethnicity (Hispanic or non-Hispanic). So the totals for these categories cannot be added together, as people show up in both a racial and ethnic group. Rates for events as rare as infant deaths can be volatile especially in smaller geographies like counties, making it difficult or impossible to discern trends.