U.S. INFANT MORTALITY RATE ROSE 3% IN 2022; LARGEST INCREASE IN 2 DECADES

Thu 02 October 2023:

The newborn mortality rate in the United States increased by 3% in 2022, the biggest increase in two decades, according to experts, which is “disturbing.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), infant boys and girls born at 37 weeks or early have a significantly higher fatality rate.

Infant mortality is the number of babies who die before reaching their first birthday.

The CDC also discovered that the two leading reasons of the rise in mortality were maternal problems and bacterial meningitis.

“It’s definitely concerning, given that it’s going in the opposite direction from what it has been,” said Marie Thoma, a University of Maryland researcher who studies maternal and newborn mortality.

Another expert, a Philadelphia-based neonatologist, Eric Eichenwald, said the report by the CDC was disturbing but warned that we can only speculate as to what was leading to this increase in the death rate.

The recent increase, though seemingly small, marks the first statistically significant uptick in the rate since the period between 2001 and 2002, as stated by Danielle Ely, the lead author of the CDC report.

Ely also mentioned that researchers were unable to determine whether the 2022 rise is merely a one-year statistical anomaly or a long-lasting trend.

On a broader scale within the United States, the overall death rate witnessed a 5 per cent decline in 2022.

This drop can be related largely to the decreasing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly among people aged 65 and older. Maternal mortality in the United States fell last year as well.

Although more than 30 states saw minor increases in infant mortality rates in 2022, four states saw statistically significant increases: Georgia, Iowa, Missouri, and Texas.

In terms of statistics, the US had around 20,500 newborn fatalities in 2022, 610 more than the previous year. Notably, Georgia recorded 116 more newborn fatalities than the previous year, while Texas recorded 251 more infant deaths.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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