Waukeshahealthinsurance.com-
–
The U.S. infant mortality rate will rise in 2022, the first jump in 20 years, the report says. Data It was released on Thursday by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In the year By 2022, more than 20,500 children will have died under the age of 1, latest records show. Overall, there were 5.6 infant deaths per 1,000 live births, a 3% increase from the previous year.
Infant mortality in the US has generally been on the rise since 1995 when continuous monitoring began, but rates are still much higher in the US than in many peer countries. There were some minor changes during that time, but The first statistically significant increase since 2002 was in 2022, according to the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics.
Experts say that any increase is cause for concern.
“Child health is one of the most important public health indicators we have,” said Amanda Jean Stevenson, a demographer and assistant professor of sociology at the University of Colorado Boulder, who was not involved in the new report but whose interim data was released earlier. At the CDC. ” facts [infant mortality rates] Whether or not they keep shrinking is a big deal. Even flat infant mortality is not good. Because these numbers are so high – and we should see them decrease quickly.
The leading causes of infant death in the US will remain consistent between 2021 and 2022, according to a CDC report. Birth defects cause nearly 1 in 5 deaths. Another 14% were caused by complications related to short pregnancy and low birth weight, followed by sudden infant death syndrome, unintentional injuries and maternal complications.
Between 2021 and 2022, infant mortality due to maternal complications rose by 9 percent, to about 30 infant deaths per 100,000 live births, and more than 33 per 100,000 live births. None of the other leading causes of infant mortality increased significantly.
Children's health It's strongly linked to maternal health, experts say, and the United States has long struggled with high rates of death among women during pregnancy, childbirth or childbirth. even if Recent failuresThe US maternal mortality rate is high compared to other high-income countries, recently Report He showed.
“Of course, we can expect that maternal complications will continue to increase in general because the standard of care for pregnancy-related complications is not being met in many states,” Stevenson said.
Covid-19 It played a significant role in the increase in infant mortality in 2022, Stevenson said. In the year Major surgeries in 2021 could infect pregnant women exposed to the coronavirus and affect babies born in 2022.
Big Research As of last year, pregnant women infected with Covid-19 were nearly four times more likely to be admitted to intensive care than those not infected. They are 15 times more likely to breathe air and seven times more likely to die. They also had a higher risk of preeclampsia, blood clots and complications from high blood pressure. Babies born to mothers with Covid-19 are more likely to be born prematurely and with low birth weight.
American Indian and Alaska Native women have been disproportionately affected by Covid-19, and infant mortality rates for this group increased dramatically between 2021 and 2022.
Infant mortality was highest among black infants in 2022, with nearly 11 deaths per 1,000 live births. But the rate among American Indians and Alaska Natives rose more than 20% in one year to more than 9 deaths for every 1,000 live births. The death rate among white infants rose above the average but remained lower than that of most races and ethnicities, at about 4.5 deaths per 1,000 live births.
After the US Supreme Court's Dobbs decision struck down the federal right to abortion, the landscape of reproductive health in the United States changed dramatically in the second half of 2022.
The latest Research In the year Some links between infant mortality and abortion restrictions have been linked to an increase in infant mortality in Texas after the state passed a law banning all abortions after six weeks of pregnancy in September 2021.
Making this link nationally is more complicated, Stevenson said.
“The change in the national level throughout the year will be dramatic because of the changes that will only be seen in the second half of the year and only in some regions,” she said. “But I've been surprised before by the magnitude of the impact that restrictions on abortion and contraception have on babies.”
of the 14 states All but two of those that have enacted blanket bans on abortion since the Dobbs decision had higher-than-average infant mortality rates in 2022, according to CDC data.
's Brenda Goodman contributed to this report.