2022 to 2023 Saw No Change in U.S. Infant Mortality Rate

THURSDAY, Nov. 14, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- The U.S. infant mortality rate did not change from 2022 to 2023 and was 5.61 per 1,000 live births in 2023, according to the Nov. 14 National Vital Statistics Reports, a publication from the National Center for Health Statistics.

Danielle M. Ely, Ph.D., and Anne K. Driscoll, Ph.D., from the National Center for Health Statistics in Hyattsville, Maryland, present provisional 2023 data on infant mortality rates using linked birth/infant death files. Comparisons were made between provisional 2023 and final 2022 data.

The researchers found that the U.S. provisional infant mortality rate in 2023 was 5.61 infant deaths per 1,000 live births, which was unchanged from the 2022 rate. Changes in the neonatal mortality rate (from 3.59 to 3.65) and postneonatal mortality rate (from 2.02 to 1.96) from 2022 to 2023 were not significant. By most of the characteristics examined, changes in infant mortality rates were not significant: maternal race and Hispanic origin, maternal age, gestational age, sex, or the 10 leading causes of infant death. Nevada and Washington had increases in infant mortality rates, while declines were seen in New Mexico and West Virginia.

"This report provides more timely information than reports based on final linked birth/infant death file data and provides details by maternal and infant characteristics, such as maternal race and Hispanic origin and gestational age, which are unavailable in provisional mortality data releases," the authors write.

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