Infant mortality rates increased in the United States last year for the first time in two decades, according to new government data, demonstrating the troubling state of Americans’ overall health when stacked against that of other industrialized countries.that the National Center for Health Statistics released Wednesday found that the infant mortality rate in the U.S. rose 3% between 2021 and 2022, marking the first year-to-year increase in that figure since 2002.
Significant increases were seen across four states: Georgia, Iowa, Missouri and Texas. Though the report didn’t explore causes behind the mortality uptick, it’s worth noting that in 2021, Texas banned abortions after around six weeks of pregnancy, stopping patients from terminating non-viable fetuses.
While Black infant deaths remain the highest across racial demographics, totaling 10.86 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2022, the statistically significant increase in infant mortality last year was seen in white and Native American babies. Those figures jumped from 4.36 deaths per 1,000 live births to 4.52 deaths year over year in white infants, and from 7.46 deaths per 1,000 live births to 9.06 for Native Americans.Despite making strides on infant health up until last year, the U.S.
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