U.S. Infant Mortality Rate Rises in 2022

A new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that the U.S. infant mortality rate rose by 3 percent in 2022, reaching a provisional 5.6 in 1,000 live births. The rate had been almost continuously falling since CDC records began in 1995, even though in an international comparison, the U.S. stays behind most developed nations in this metric.

Infant mortality is the death of a child before its first birthday. Infant deaths between 2 and 11 months of age rose faster than the average infant mortality rate at 4 percent, while those between birth and 28 days of age rose by 3 percent as well. Two common causes for infant death - pregnancy complications and meningitis - became more prevalent. Experts interviewed by news outlets said that the reasons for the increase were not quite clear yet and offered different explanations for parts of it, for example infectious diseases on the upswing after social distancing ended, expanding maternity care deserts in the country, unwanted pregnancies continuing to term due to abortion bans, an increase of maternal complications due to Covid-19 and more women in general starting pregnancy with underlying health conditions like obesity, diabetes and high blood pressure as these become more prevalent in the population.

While Black and native populations have the highest infant mortality rates in the United States, statistically significant increase in 2022 happened among white and American Indian/Alaska Native populations specifically. The increase in the overall rate was the first statistically significant one since 2002 and researchers are not sure if it will continue. However, a smaller increase between 2020 and 2021 as well as data for the beginning of 2023 are pointing in this direction.