The US infant mortality rate rose 3% last year. That’s the largest increase in two decades, according to the CDC.
White and Native American infants, infant boys, and babies born at 36 weeks or earlier had significant death increases.
The CDC’s report, published Wednesday, noted the larger increases for two of the leading causes of infant deaths – maternal complications and bacterial meningitis.
Doctor Eric Eichenwald, a Philadelphia-based neonatologist, called the data disturbing. But right now, all they can do is speculate. RSV and flu infections rebounded last fall after two years of pandemic precautions. That could be a problem.
Infant deaths have gone from 5.44 per thousand to 5.6 per thousand. It’s a small increase, but it’s the first statistically significant jump since 2001- 2002, said Danielle Ely, the CDC report’s lead author.
US maternal mortality hit a 6th-decade high and was blamed largely on COVID. Deaths of pregnant women in the US fell in 2022, dropping significantly. More than 1200 US women died in 2021 during pregnancy or shortly after childbirth. Officials say the 2022 maternal death rate is on track to get close to pre-pandemic levels. The rate before COVID-19 was the highest in decades.
Women are dying from excessive bleeding, blood vessel blockages, and infections. They say COVID-19 is particularly dangerous for women.
The one thing they haven’t mentioned is the vaccine. It is a variable.
The 2021 maternal mortality rate for black women was nearly three times higher than it was for white women, and the maternal death rate for Hispanic American women rose 54 percent compared with 2020, also surpassing the death rate for white moms. Numerous studies have shown that obesity is a problem for non-white women.
What about all the illegal aliens coming in from poverty-stricken countries? How do they affect the numbers?
This report comes from CBS News.