Mississippi health officials declared a public emergency last week in response to the state’s growing infant mortality rate.

The Mississippi State Department of Health reported 9.7 infant deaths per 1,000 live births in 2024. This is higher than the nationwide infant mortality rate of 5.6 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2022, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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Additionally, since 2014, 3,527 infants in Mississippi have died before their first birthday.

“Every single infant loss represents a family devastated, a community impacted, and a future cut short,” said Dr. Daniel Edney, a state health officer. “We cannot and will not accept these numbers as our reality.”

The public health emergency will allow the state to increase resources to address the crisis. State officials said they are implementing a multipronged strategy to eliminate areas of the state with few to no obstetricians, called “OB deserts.” Officials are also connecting mothers and their babies with community resources and partnering with hospitals and other medical providers to close any gaps in maternal care resources.

Nearly half of all counties in Mississippi are considered “OB deserts,” according to the maternal health nonprofit organization March of Dimes, a fact it said can leave “families with little or no access to maternity care and putting them at greater risk for poor outcomes.”

“Improving maternal health is the best way to reduce infant mortality,” Edney said. “That means better access to prenatal and postpartum care, stronger community support, and more resources for moms and babies. Healthy women of childbearing age are more likely to have healthy pregnancies, which in turn lead to healthier babies.”

Leading causes of infant death in the state include congenital malformations, premature birth, low birthweight, and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, according to Mississippi health officials.

Racial disparities exist as well, not only in Mississippi but nationwide, with black infants dying at a higher rate than white infants. In Mississippi, black infants are more than twice as likely to die before their first birthday as white infants.

Federal funding cuts to healthcare could also further complicate the infant mortality crisis.

Mississippi residents also utilize Medicaid at a higher rate than residents of other states. In terms of childbirth, nearly 6 in 10 births in the state are financed by Medicaid, compared to about 4 in 10 nationally, according to a KFF Health News analysis of government data.

Mississippi did not expand Medicaid, so it would not be subject to most of the work requirements of President Donald Trump’s so-called “big, beautiful bill.” However, the health news outlet estimated that the bill’s funding cap and work requirements could raise Mississippi’s uninsured rate by 1 to 2%, which would leave 20,000 to 40,000 additional residents without coverage.

However, states that expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act have seen measurable improvements in infant health. Arkansas saw a 29% reduction in black infant mortality in the five years following its expansion.

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Rural hospitals that rely heavily on Medicaid reimbursement are also at risk of closure under the new federal law, which experts said could exacerbate the state’s “OB desert” crisis.

The Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System, a CDC program that collects state-specific data on maternal and infant health, has also been targeted for elimination. In June, CDC staffers who carried out the survey were fired.