In 2022, infant mortality increased 3 percent from 2021, the first significant increase in decades, according to a report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The CDC recorded a slight increase in infant mortality rates in 2021, from 5.42 deaths per 100,000 births in 2020 to 5.44 in 2021.
In 2021, fewer than 20,000 infants died. In 2022, over 20,500 infants died, with 5.61 deaths out of 100,000 live births.
The CDC report did not give a clear reason for the increase, saying that the top five reasons for infant mortality have remained the same from 2021 to 2022. Nevertheless, mortality rates increased both for babies born preterm and those born at term. Rates of both neonatal and postnatal deaths rose in 2022.
Neonatal deaths are those that occur in infants under 28 days old, while postnatal deaths are those that occur within a year of birth. Just like in 2021, in 2022, the five leading causes of infant deaths were congenital malformations, disorders related to short gestation and low birth weight, sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), unintentional injuries, and maternal complications, according to the report. The researchers observed an increase in the incidence rate of all five causes.
However, only the increase in maternal complications was statistically significant. The new CDC report also found that the overall mortality rate increased for infants born to American Indian or Alaska Native, white, and Dominican women in 2022, while other racial and ethnic groups did not see significant increases from 2021 to 2022. Twelve states—California, Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Washington—had infant mortality rates significantly lower than the 2022 national infant mortality rate of 5.
61 per 100,000 live births..
