The number of American babies who died before their first birthday increased in 2022, according to data released Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Georgia has the ninth-highest infant mortality rate in the country, with about seven babies dying for every 1,000 live births.
Infant mortality is the measure of how many babies die before they reach their first birthday. The number of babies born too early in Georgia has been steadily rising, putting a growing number of infants at risk for lifelong physical and intellectual disabilities, according to the March of Dimes.
“The increase in infant mortality rates is extremely concerning,” said Dr. Felipe Lobelo, an epidemiologist at Kaiser Permanente of Georgia. “It underscores the need for meaningful actions to address inequities in access to high quality obstetric care.”
Georgia is also among 19 states with infant mortality rates significantly higher than the U.S. rate, according to the CDC report.
Across the U.S. there were 20,577 infant deaths reported in 2022, up 3% from the previous year, according to the report. The U.S. infant mortality rate was 5.61 infant deaths per 1,000 live births, up from the rate of 5.44 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2021.
The infant mortality rate in Georgia was 7.08, up from 6.25 the previous year.
In Georgia, there were 893 infant deaths in 2022, which is 117 more infant deaths than the year before.
The five leading causes of all infant deaths were the same in 2022 as they were in 2021. Congenital disorders, or birth defects, led to nearly 1 in 5 deaths. Another 14% was caused by disorders related to short gestation and low birth weight, followed by sudden infant death syndrome, unintentional injuries, and maternal complications.
The report does not delve into the cause of the increase, but COVID likely played a major role, according to Lobelo. Most of the babies born in 2021 and 2022 were conceived during the earlier days of the pandemic. Many large studies have found pregnant women infected with the coronavirus have a higher risk for many health problems, including preeclampsia and pre-term births.
Some research is drawing connections between infant mortality and abortions bans, pointing to a jump in infant deaths in Texas after the state passed a law in September 2021 banning nearly all abortions beyond six weeks of pregnancy.
But experts, including Lobelo, said it’s still too early to know whether or to what extent abortion bans may be influencing the infant mortality rate.
Meanwhile, wide disparities continue to persist among different racial demographics. Deaths among infants of Black women remained the highest of all groups, with 10.90 deaths per 1,000 live births. In contrast, infants of Asian women had the lowest mortality rate at 3.51.
Pregnancy-related complications are closely tied to infant deaths as well.
While the situation is dire, the Georgia chapter of the nonprofit March of Dimes see hope in a new Georgia Department of Public Health home-visit pilot program for pregnant women, their unborn or recently born babies and their siblings.
The in-home help was a key priority for the March of Dimes, which recently scored Georgia with an “F” for its worsening record of maternal and infant mortality.
The overall goals of the home visiting programs are to promote healthy pregnancies, improve parenting skills and reduce child abuse and neglect. Other support for families includes clinical services such as blood-pressure monitoring, wellness and postpartum checks. Women eligible include those at high risk of pregnancy complications and those with chronic health conditions, including HIV.
Starting last October, the program was launched in 21 counties. The program was expanded this month to bring the total up to 47 counties across the state. Most are outside metro Atlanta.
Another positive step, according to Tamara Mason, director of Maternal and Child Health Collective Impact for the March of Dimes Atlanta market, is the extension of Medicaid coverage for lower-income new moms from six months after giving birth to one year.
“In terms of infant mortality, the No. 1 contributor to that is preterm births,” said Mason. The best way to prevent that, she added, is by ensuring early access to prenatal care, stable housing and food, and addressing mental health needs among expectant mothers.
State public health officials say they are working to launch other new programs to help improve infant mortality rates. They are working with hospitals to implement best practices with women facing problematic births.
Nancy Nydam, a spokesperson for the Georgia Department of Public Health, noted the number of reported births and reported infant deaths in Georgia dropped in 2020 and 2021, then the numbers returned to pre-pandemic levels in 2022. She said there may have been incomplete reporting in 2020 and 2021, and that the 2022 data may be a more accurate reflection of what was “actually happening all along.”
