Infant mortality rate increase overview:
- Who: A report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed the infant mortality rate in the U.S. increased by a statistically significant amount last year for the first time in 20 years.
- Why: The agency said the rate of maternal complications and bacterial meningitis also increased in 2022, but said it could not determine whether the increased rate was the start of a new trend or simply a one-year anomaly.
- Where: The CDC report calculated the infant mortality rate nationwide.
The infant mortality rate in the U.S. rose by 3% last year, the first time a statistically significant increase has occurred in 20 years, according to a report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The most weighty increase was among white and Native American infant boys and babies born at 37 weeks or earlier, according to the CDC report, which also revealed an increase in maternal complications and bacterial meningitis — the two most common causes of infant death, The Associated Press reports.
Nationwide, there were 5.6 infant deaths for every 1,000 live births last year — an increase from 5.44 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2021 and the first statistically significant jump since between 2001 and 2002, according to the report.
The U.S. states with the most significant increases were Georgia, Iowa, Missouri and Texas, with more than 30 states seeing at least a slight rise, according to the CDC, according to The Associated Press.
CDC researchers unsure if infant mortality increase in 2022 was start of new trend
The CDC reportedly said researchers were not able to determine whether the increase in infant mortality is the start of a new trend or whether it was simply an anomaly.
The infant mortality rate — which is measured by the number of babies who die before reaching their first birthday — is reportedly worse in the U.S. than other high-income countries, on account of poverty and insufficient prenatal care, among other things, according to experts.
Despite this, the infant mortality rate in the U.S. has generally been gradually improving thanks to medical advances and public health efforts, AP reports.
In total, there were reportedly more than 20,500 infant deaths across the country in 2022, an increase of 610 from 2021.
In other news involving maternity, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in August approved the first vaccine that women can receive during pregnancy to prevent infant respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).
Are you concerned about the infant mortality rate increasing last year? Let us know in the comments.
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