North Carolina’s infant mortality rate declined sharply in 2010, reaching its lowest level in state history. The rate, seven deaths for 1,000 live births, represents an 11.4 percent drop from the state’s 2009 rate of 7.9 deaths.  The largest decline in infant mortality in 2010 was among African American infants, a reduction of 19.6 percent from 2009. State Health Director Jeffrey Engel, MD, noted that many factors, including public health programs that focus on providing accessible, high quality medical care and promoting healthy lifestyles for women of childbearing age, contributed to the improvement. This year’s report also noted a 46 percent reduction in reported cases of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), down from 98 deaths in 2009 to 53 in 2010. View the full report at http://www.schs.state.nc.us/SCHS/deaths/ims/2010/.