Mortality rate for infants of teen mothers decreases in US

Key takeaways:

• The mortality rate for infants of teens declined more than 16% overall in the United States from 1996 to 2019.
• Mortality rates remained higher for infants of Black and Hispanic teens.

The mortality rate for infants born to teen parents declined more than 16% from 1996 to 2019, according to a study published in Pediatrics.

Researchers from the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics and the the University of California, San Francisco’s Institute for Global Health Sciences noted in their study that infants of teens have higher rates of preterm birth, low birth weight and mortality compared with mothers aged 20 years or older.

“In 2019, the mortality rate for infants of mothers under age 20 ... was nearly double the rate for infants of mothers aged 30 to 34 ... the group with the lowest rate,” they wrote. “Furthermore, the risk of adverse birth outcomes for infants of teens differs by maternal age and race and ethnicity. Mortality rates are highest for infants of younger teens, and infants of Black teens are more likely to die during their first year of life than infants of white or Hispanic teens.”

The authors used national data to examine mortality rates for infants of white, Black and Hispanic teens aged 15 to 19 years and estimate trends in infant deaths. In addition, they calculated urbanization levels using 2013 data and classified teens as living in three metro areas — large central, large fringe, or medium or small metro — or in a rural area.

Overall, they found that the mortality rate for infants of teens declined 16.7% from 1996 to 2019 to 8.58 deaths per 1,000 live births. Mortality rates for infants of teens also declined for all racial and ethnic groups in urban counties, but not in rural counties.

The authors suggested further research could help explain the social and structural factors that have contributed to the lack of progress in reducing mortality rates for infants of Black and Hispanic teens in rural counties.

In an accompanying commentary, Kamilah Dixon, MD, MA, clinical assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, and Christine Sander, MHA, senior director of infant wellness at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, said “there is an opportunity to push” education and access to contraception “to drive community-level change through adoption of consistent practices across multisector partnerships.”

“These interventions are particularly important in the context of the growing problem of obstetric deserts in rural communities,” they wrote. “Creative solutions will be necessary to ensure these birthing people have access to the services they need.”

References:

• Dixon K, et al. Pediatrics. 2023;doi:10.1542/peds.2022-060889.
• Woodall AM, et al. Pediatrics. 2023;doi:10.1542/peds.2022-060512.