According to a recent National Vital Statistics Report (v59, n6), Alaska had 73 infant deaths in 2007, the latest year's data. This ranked Alaska as the 20th lowest state with a infant mortality rate of 6.61 deaths per 1,000 live births, versus the national rate of 6.74. This is an improvement from 2006 when we were ranked 28th with a rate of 7.0 versus a national rate of 6.68.
"...more than half (54 percent) of all infant deaths in the US in 2007 occurred to the 2 percent of infants born very preterm (less than 32 weeks of gestation). Still, infant mortality rates for late preterm infants (34-36 weeks of gestation) were 3.6 times, and those for early term (37-38 weeks) infants were 1.5 times those for infants born at 39-41 weeks of gestation, the gestational age with the lowest infant mortality rate. The three leading causes of infant death - Congenital malformations, low birthweight, and SIDS - accounted for 45 percent of all infant deaths. The percentage of infant deaths that were “preterm-related” was 36.0 percent in 2007."
"...Across the U.S. rates are generally higher in the south and Midwest and lower elsewhere. For 2005-2007 infant mortality rates ranged from 10.64 for Mississippi to 4.88 for Washington and 4.89 for Utah. The highest rate noted (12.80) was for the District of Columbia (D.C.); however, the rate for the D.C. is more appropriately compared with rates for other large U.S. cities, because of the high concentrations of high-risk women in these areas."