US infant mortality rate rises for first time in decades

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has announced the largest increase in the infant mortality rate in the U.S. in two decades. According to the report released Wednesday, Nov. 1, the infant mortality rate in the U.S. rose 3% in 2022, after declining for years, with researchers not yet sure if it’s the start of a future trend.

• 19,928 infant deaths in 2021
• 20,538 infant deaths in 2022

The CDC said white and Native American infants, infant boys, and babies born at 37 weeks or earlier saw significant death increases.

BREAKING: 🇺🇸 U.S. Infant Mortality Rate rose 3% since 2021 (from 5.44 to 5.6 infant deaths per 1,000 live births) – the largest increase in over two decades according to the CDC.

Infant mortality rate in 2021:

🇲🇨 Monaco: 1
🇸🇲 San Marino: 2
🇪🇪 Estonia: 2
🇯🇵 Japan: 2
🇸🇬…

— World of Statistics (@stats_feed) November 1, 2023

There was an increase in two of the leading causes of infant deaths, maternal complications and bacterial meningitis. Four states saw significant increases in the infant mortality rate, Georgia, Iowa, Missouri, and Texas. 

Medical experts speculating on reasons behind the jump, suggest the rise in RSV and flu infections last year and locations with limited access to maternity care could be contributing factors.

A recent analysis by ABC News and Boston Children’s Hospital found that more than 1.7 million women live in counties with no access to abortion and maternity care.

In 2022, the Biden-Harris administration released a blueprint to address what has been deemed a maternal health crisis in the U.S.

“Regardless of income or education level, Black women are three times as likely to die from pregnancy-related complications. Native American women are more than twice as likely to die,” Vice President Kamala Harris wrote. “And women who live in rural America—where there are many maternal care deserts—are about 60 percent more likely to die.”

Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Indiana University School of Medicine, Dr. Tracey Wilkinson told ABC News that another reason for the rise in infant mortality in the U.S. is the overturning of Roe v. Wade.

“Furthermore, we are hearing over and over again, women with non-viable fetuses with diagnoses that mean that they will not survive outside of the womb for any significant period of time, being forced to continue those pregnancies,” Dr. Wilkinson said. “And so that will also contribute to infant mortality because once those infants are born, they’re counted in these numbers.”

The last year-over-year increase in the infant mortality rate occurred from 2001 to 2002.