Infant mortality rates continue to show racial and ethnic disparities, according to new federal data released on Thursday.
In a report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), researchers found that Black infants passed away at a rate that was over two times more than the mortality rate of white infants. While white infants passed away at a rate of 4.5 deaths per 1,000 live births, Black infants passed away at a rate that was nearly 11 infant deaths per every 1,000 live births.
Infants born to Hawaiian or Pacific Islander women and Hispanic women also passed away at higher rates. While Hawaiian or Pacific Islander infants died at a rate of 8.2 deaths per every 1,000 live births, Hispanic infants passed away at a rate that was 5.0 deaths per 1,000 live births.
The racial disparities in infant death persisted despite infant mortality rates largely remaining unchanged overall. The postneonatal mortality rate, which focuses on the first 4 weeks to a year after the infant is born, shifted from 2.02 deaths per 1,000 live births to 1.96 deaths per 1,000 live births in the span of one year.
#STATOFTHEDAY The U.S. infant mortality rate in 2023 was 5.61 infant deaths per 1,000 births, the same as 2022, after a 3% increase from 2021. https://t.co/JHJwqNRypw pic.twitter.com/smabP822Dn
— NCHS (@NCHStats) November 14, 2024
“I am not surprised,” said associate research professor at the Institute for Social Research, Robin Jacob, per ABC News. “In particular infant mortality among Black women and infants is consistently higher than for white women, but I am disappointed that despite increased awareness and efforts to reduce the disparities, we are not seeing any progress in reducing the infant mortality rate among this population.”
Previous research has highlighted several disparities in the treatment of both babies and mothers that contribute to this higher rate of infant mortality amongst Black infants.
Per a report released by KFF, Black women have higher rates of preterm births, low birthweight births and births in which they received no or late prenatal care. Due to the lack of care, Black women record a mortality rate that’s more than three times that of white women.
Amongst the drivers of these inequities are systemic racism, economic inequities as well as social inequities.
Researchers warn that the disparities could be further exacerbated with the incoming presidential term, comparing the stark differences in policies Vice President Kamala Harris would have offered to the upcoming expected policies.
“Vice President Harris has been an outspoken advocate for eliminating maternal health disparities and promoting access to abortion and contraception services in addition to maternity care for all,” wrote researchers at KFF. “Trump expresses his support for letting states set their own abortion policy, which can limit the availability of other related services, including maternity care.”
