The infant mortality rate for infants born to mothers of Hispanic ethnicity in 1999 was 5.7 per 1,000 live births, slightly lower than the rate for infants born to non-Hispanic white mothers (5.8).  Within the Hispanic population, there was variation in infant mortality rates.  The highest infant mortality occurred among infants born to Puerto Rican mothers (8.3 per 1,000 live births), and the lowest rate was for infants born to mothers of Cuban descent (4.6).