The Mississippi Department of Health declared a public health emergency Thursday on the rise in the state’s infant mortality rate.
According to a news release from the state health department, 9.7 deaths occurred for every 1,000 births in Mississippi in 2024, with the highest incidence in over a decade. More than 3,500 babies in Mississippi have died since 2014 before the age of one year.
“The losses for all infants represent families being devastated, communities being affected, and shortened futures. We cannot accept these figures as reality. We declare that a public health emergency is more than a policy decision.
An emergency declaration creates specific opportunities for mobilizing resources to address issues. The state’s health department’s strategies include activating standardized systems of maternal and infant care, eliminating the desert of obstetric care, expanding access to mothers and babies resources through community healthcare programs and home visits; Education on safe sleep practices.
“Improved maternal health is the best way to reduce infant mortality,” Edney said. “It means better access to prenatal and postnatal care, greater community support, and more resources for mothers and babies. Healthy women of birth age are more likely to have a healthy pregnancy, which leads to healthy babies.”
About a third of U.S. counties don’t have a single obstetric clinician, according to a report released last year by Dimes, a nonprofit for infant and maternal health. In Mississippi, nearly half of all counties are considered maternity care deserts, according to the organization.
“The Mississippi Department of Health’s public health emergency declaration in response to infant mortality is a painful reminder of the maternal and infant health crisis our country faces,” Dimes President and CEO Cindy Rahman said in a statement. “While Mississippi accounts for less than 1% of US births, the state accounts for more than 1.6% of all infant deaths. These losses should be a call for awakening to the nation.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will release its own data on infant mortality later this year, but the Mississippi Health Department said “we were unable to wait for the urgency of this crisis to take action.”
Latest available data from the CDC shows that the national infant mortality rate rose in 2022 for the first time in 20 years. Mississippi had the highest infant mortality rate in all 50 states that year, more than 60% higher than the national average.
According to a state news release, the main causes of infant mortality in Mississippi are congenital malformations, premature birth, low birth weight and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Black babies in Mississippi are particularly vulnerable, with over 15 deaths per 1,000 births in 2024, already jumping 24% in a year, above average fees.
Recent studies have shown that there are several possible relationships between infant mortality and abortion restrictions. CNN’s investigation report found infant mortality rates skyrocketed in Texas after the six-week abortion ban was enacted in 2021, and a survey released in October found that the impact of the ban and restrictions enacted by the U.S. Supreme Court DOBBS has been large enough to make the US DOBBS decision to significantly abolish federal rights.
March of Dimes also highlighted the “important” importance of protecting Medicaid to support the health care of newborns and their mothers.
“Medicaid has become an important lifeline for moms and babies, covering nearly 53% of Mississippi’s births and 40% nationwide. “The United States is one of the most dangerous developing countries for births. We can’t afford to retreat.”