According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, "In addition to giving us key information about maternal and infant health, the infant mortality rate is an important marker of the overall health of a society."

Infant Mortality represents the health of a vulnerable age group and can provide context to support interpretion of the years of potential life lost (YPLL) in a county. Infant mortality is also commonly used to examine global health differences, as well as to understand historic racial inequities in the United States.