US infant deaths rise for first time in decades

Medical Xpress July 25, 2024
Robin Foster

For the first time in two decades, the infant mortality rate in the United States has risen, new government data shows.

In a report released Thursday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, researchers found that more than 20,500 babies died in 2022 before the age of 1. Overall, there were 5.6 infant deaths for every 1,000 live births, a 3% increase from the year before.

“Infant health is one of the most important public health indicators that we have,” Amanda Jean Stevenson, a demographer and assistant professor of sociology at the University of Colorado Boulder, told CNN.

“The fact that [infant mortality rates] are not continuing to decrease is a very big deal. Even flat infant mortality...