CDC Reports That Infant Mortality Rates Rose 3% from 2021 to 2022

November 02, 2023 - Yesterday, the United States Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National Center for Vital Statistics published a provisional report highlighting a 3% increase in infant mortality rates from 2021 to 2022. The data provides significant insights into public health as it is the first year-to-year increase in infant deaths in two decades.

The organization evaluated infant mortality rates based on multiple factors, including maternal and infant health characteristics.

Data from the National Vital Statistics System (NVSS) linked infant birth and death records to quantify the death rates based on multiple factors. The National Center for Health Statistics evaluated the 2022 data.

“This report, the first based on provisional data from the linked birth/infant death file, provides more timely information than reports based on final linked birth/infant death file data and provides detail by maternal and infant characteristics, such as maternal race and Hispanic origin and gestational age, which are unavailable in provisional mortality data releases,” noted CDC experts in the report.

Overall, there were 20,538 infant deaths in the US throughout 2022 compared to 19,928 deaths in 2021, a 3% increase.

Beyond the overall rate, the researchers divided death rates by age at death; neonatal death was characterized by mortality before 28 days, while post-neonatal infant mortality was from day 28 to 364. According to the provisional report, the number of neonatal deaths increased by 3% between 2021 and 2022, increasing from 3.49 deaths per 1,000 live births to 3.58 deaths per 1,000 live births. Comparatively, post-neonatal mortality rates increased by 4%, from 1.95 to 2.02 deaths per 1,000 live births.

Other factors considered include maternal race and Hispanic origin, maternal age, gestational age, infant sex, state of residence, and causes of death.

Although the changes in mortality rates for infants with Black, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, and Hispanic women were not statistically significant, the researchers did note changes among American Indian or Alaska Native and White women. Infant deaths of American Indian or Alaska Native women rose from 7.46 to 9.06 deaths per 1,000 live births. Similarly, the rate rose from 4.36 to 4.52 among White women.

Focusing on maternal age, only one age group, 25–29, saw a statistically significant change in infant deaths between 2021 and 2022, increasing from 5.15 to 5.37 deaths per 1,000 live births. Across gestational age categories, deaths only increased among preterm infants.

While researchers did not identify significant changes in infant death caused by unintentional injuries, newborn respiratory distress, congenital malformations, and sudden infant death syndrome, they noted elevated mortality rates in infant deaths caused by maternal complications and bacterial sepsis.

Additionally, they cited a decline in infant mortality caused by short gestation, low birth weight, circulatory system diseases, neonatal hemorrhage, and complications of the placenta, cord, or membranes. 

“The reported increase in infant mortality rates is disturbing and disappointing,” said Sandy L. Chung, MD, FAAP, and president of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) in an AAP press release. “We live in a country with abundant resources. Yet the infant mortality rate in the United States is shockingly high. There are many different reasons for this. We do know that families in poverty face many challenges, including access to nutritious food and affordable healthcare. Racial and ethnic disparities related to accessible healthcare — including prenatal health services — are just one of the many possible reasons for lower birth weights of babies and, sometimes, infant deaths.”