JEFFERSON CITY — Missouri is one of four states where infant death rates increased significantly last year compared to 2021, according to a report released Wednesday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The CDC report said Missouri’s infant mortality rate increased from 5.85 deaths per 1,000 live births two years ago to 6.77 deaths per 1,000 live births last year, a 16% increase.
The infant mortality rate nationwide increased 3% in that same time period, from 5.44 to 5.60 deaths per 1,000 live births.
Texas, Iowa and Georgia also saw significant increases in their infant death rates.
Infant death rates for maternal complications and bacterial sepsis significantly increased nationwide from 2021 to 2022, the report said.
The Post-Dispatch reported in August that Missouri’s infant death rate had reached a six-year high in 2022, citing provisional figures published by the Department of Health and Senior Services.
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The state agency as of Wednesday had yet to release its comprehensive vital statistics report for 2022.
“This trend is disturbing but it’s also avoidable,†said state Sen. Tracy McCreery, D-Olivette. “I’m just really frustrated that, you know, in a country like ours that we can not figure out a way to do a better job with keeping infants alive.â€
McCreery said maternal health and infant mortality are intertwined and that “we need to do a better job of reaching pregnant women as early as possible in their pregnancy and make sure that they have access to the care that they need.â€
She said health care deserts for pregnant moms and their infants exist in Missouri, and that the state could be doing better.
McCreery mentioned legislation approved this year that allows new moms to receive Medicaid health insurance for one year after pregnancy, rather than 60 days, as a policy that will have a positive impact.
Missouri lawmakers this year also approved a new state-funded medical residency program in an effort to attract new physicians to the state.
Like McCreery, Rep. Patty Lewis, D-Kansas City, also pointed to maternal health care deserts in Missouri as a problem.
But, Lewis added, “we’re already seeing the impact†of the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade, the constitutional right to an abortion, in June 2022, which triggered Missouri’s near-total abortion ban.
She referred to by the Association of American Medical Colleges that showed declines in medical school graduate residency program applicants in states with abortion bans that exceeded decreases in other states for the 2022-23 application cycle.
Lewis said she wasn’t surprised that the four states with significant infant mortality rate increases “are all Republican states that have significant restrictions or total abortion bans.â€
Rep. Hannah Kelly, a Mountain Grove Republican and chairwoman of the House Children and Families Committee, said these issues “existed long before Roe v. Wade was overturned. It’s just they’re getting a lot of attention right now.â€
“We should not be aborting our future leaders and we should be helping young moms in need,†Kelly said.
“I would say that abortion is dangerous for moms and babies. And, so, we want doctors who will live out … their oath and promise to take care of the people in their care†and protect life, Kelly said. “And here in Missouri we believe that life begins at conception.â€
The increase in the national infant mortality rate was the largest increase in two decades, the CDC said.
White and Native American infants, infant boys and babies born at 37 weeks or earlier had significant death rate increases. The CDC’s report also noted larger increases for two of the leading causes of infant deaths — maternal complications and bacterial meningitis.
“It’s definitely concerning, given that it’s going in the opposite direction from what it has been,†said Marie Thoma, a University of Maryland researcher who studies maternal and infant mortality.
Dr. Eric Eichenwald, a Philadelphia-based neonatologist, called the new data “disturbing,†but said experts at this point can only speculate as to why a statistic that generally has been falling for decades rose sharply in 2022.
RSV and flu infections rebounded last fall after two years of pandemic precautions, filling pediatric emergency rooms across the country.
“That could potentially account for some of it,†said Eichenwald, who chairs an American Academy of Pediatrics committee that writes guidelines for medical care of newborns.
Infant mortality is the measure of how many babies die before they reach their first birthday. Because the number of babies born in the U.S. varies from year to year, researchers instead calculate rates to better compare infant mortality over time.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Updated at 4:50 p.m.