According to preliminary data, the newborn mortality rate in the United States increased annually in 2022 for the first time in 20 years.
Defined as the death of an infant before their first birthday, the country’s infant mortality rate had fallen 22% from 2002 to 2021, according to the most recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It had generally trended downward since 1995.
Yet the CDC’s latest data points to an increase from 5.44 to 5.60 deaths per 1,000 live births between 2021 and 2022, marking a 3% rise. The data is based on birth and death certificates registered in U.S. states and the District of Columbia.
Among racial and ethnic groups, the data indicates infant mortality in 2022 was highest among babies born to Black mothers, at 10.86 deaths per 1,000 live births, and lowest among infants born to Asian mothers, at 3.50 per 1,000. Meanwhile, American Indian and Alaska Native mothers saw a 21% increase in the rate of infant mortality from 2021 to 2022. That spike and a roughly 4% rate increase among infants born to white women – from 4.36 to 4.52 per 1,000 – marked the only statistically significant changes in infant mortality rates among racial and ethnic groups studied.
Mortality rates also increased significantly among preterm infants, male infants and for two of the 10 leading causes of infant death: maternal complications of pregnancy and bacterial sepsis of newborn.