The US infant mortality rate has risen for the first time in more than two decades, official data shows.
According to preliminary figures from the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), infant mortality from all causes increased by three percent between 2021 and 2022, from 5.44 to 5.6 infant deaths per 1,000 births.
Deaths from sepsis rose the most at 14 percent, followed by deaths from respiratory problems at 11 percent and maternal complications at nine percent.
Experts pointed to an uptick in flu and RSV infections and tightening abortion restrictions starting in mid-2022, after Roe v Wade was overturned to partly explain the increase.
Paediatricians described the figures as ‘shockingly high’, adding that every child death was ‘one too many’. But statisticians said the data could be a “weird blip” and more data was needed.
Child mortality has risen for the first time in more than two decades, preliminary data show (Stock Image)
Dr. Sandy Chung, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), shared CNN: ‘We live in a country with significant resources, so the infant mortality rate and increase are shockingly high.
“As pediatricians who help children grow into healthy adults, every death of any child is one too many.
“The infant mortality rate in this country is unacceptable.”
Danielle Ely, a health statistician with the NCHS, said that while the increase appeared small, it was the first statistically significant increase since 2001 and 2002.
She added that researchers were unsure whether this was a statistical error or the start of a worrying trend.
Infant mortality – which measures how many babies die before they reach their first birthday – has been on a downward trend in the US since the 1990s, official figures show.
Initially, growth fell by about three percent per year, but over the past decade the rate of decline has slowed to below one percent. From 2020 to 2021, the rate remained unchanged: 5.4 infant deaths per 1,000 births.
The latest data shows that there were 20,500 child deaths in 2022 – 610 more than the year before.
But Georgia still had 116 infant deaths, while Texas had 251 more.
In total, 31 states saw an increase in their infant mortality rates, but only four showed a statistically significant increase: Georgia (a 13 percent increase), Iowa (a 30 percent increase), Missouri (a 16 percent increase), and Texas ( an increase of eight percent).
Mortality rates for three of the 10 leading causes of infant mortality – maternal complications, respiratory distress and sepsis – rose.
They remained stable for congenital abnormalities – such as heart defects or spiuna bifida – the most common causes of death in infants.
Dr. Eric Eichenwald, a neonatologist in Philadelphia, called the new data “troubling” and said it may be linked to an uptick in RSV and flu infections.
“That might explain some of it,” said Dr. Eichenwald, who also chairs the AAP committee that writes guidelines on the medical care of newborns.
The above graph shows the infant mortality rate by ethnic group in 2021 (blue) and 2022 (green)
The above shows the infant mortality rate by neonatal phase, within the first 28 days of life, and within the postneonatal phase, from 28 days to one year of life.
There have also been previous suggestions that abortion restrictions could be behind the increase.
For Texas, the state passed a law in September 2021 banning abortion after a fetal heartbeat is detected — which typically happens around six weeks — forcing women to endure nonviable pregnancies.
From 2021 to 2022, the state’s infant mortality rate subsequently increased by eight percent, with 2,228 fatalities recorded.
Dr. Erika Werner, chair of obstetrics at Tufts Medical Center, previously said, “We all knew the infant mortality rate would rise because many of these terminations involved pregnancies that did not result in healthy, normal children.
“It’s exactly what we were all worried about.”
The US has higher infant and maternal mortality rates than many other wealthy countries – including Canada, Germany, Australia and Japan