Infant Mortality
Infant mortality, fertility rates ‘higher than expected’ in states with abortion bans
States that have adopted complete or 6-week abortion bans have “higher-than-expected” infant mortality and fertility rates, according to two studies published in JAMA.
Study: Unexpected infant deaths increased in recent years
Although infant mortality rates have declined since 1999, there was a recent spike in sudden unexpected infant deaths from 2020 to 2022, according to data published in JAMA Pediatrics.
Study: Infant deaths rose 7% after Dobbs decision
Infant mortality rose 7%, and infant deaths with congenital anomalies increased 10% in the year following the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson decision, which overturned Roe v. Wade, according to research published in JAMA Pediatrics.
Decreases in infant morbidity, mortality slowed in recent years
Rates of morbidity and mortality among very preterm infants in the United States have continued to decrease but at a slower pace in recent years, and the rate of chronic lung disease has increased, according to study findings.
Racial, ethnic, socioeconomic inequalities continue to impact preterm infant mortality
Mortality rate for infants of teen mothers decreases in US
The mortality rate for infants born to teen parents declined more than 16% from 1996 to 2019, according to a study published in Pediatrics.
Medicaid expansion linked to declines in Black and Hispanic infant mortality rates
Medicaid expansion was associated with statistically significant declines in mortality rates among Black infants in 2018 to 2019 and Hispanic infants in 2015 to 2019, according to researchers.
Moderate state abortion laws not tied to lower all-cause mortality vs. restrictive laws
Moderate state legislation on abortion was associated with lower rates of maternal, fetal and infant mortality, but did not lower all-cause mortality, compared with restrictive laws, data published in Obstetrics & Gynecology showed.
267K more babies died than expected in 2020, worldwide study shows
Researchers estimated that more than 267,000 infants in low- and middle-income countries died in 2020 as a result of the economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Initiating ‘kangaroo mother care’ immediately after birth lowers infant mortality
“Kangaroo mother care,” the practice of a caregiver participating in skin-to-skin contact with a newborn, was associated with a reduced risk for mortality in low-birth-weight infants at 28 days, a randomized controlled trial showed.