Officials from the Alabama Department of Public Health say that the infant death rate spiked last year to its highest level in years, reports AL.com's Savannah Tryens-Fernandes.
Of the 58,000 babies that were born in 2023, 449 did not live to age 1. That death rate -- 7.8 per 1,000 -- was a big jump from 2022, when Alabama saw a rate of 6.7 per 1,000, the lowest ever recorded in the state.
Nationally, the rate was 5.6 in 2022.
We continue to see the usual high-risk factors, including poverty, education, access to healthcare and race. The infant mortality rate for Black babies is more than twice that of white babies, although the increase last year largely reflected an increase in the deaths of white infants.
Last year a March of Dimes report came out that found a third of Alabama's counties were considered "maternity care deserts" because of a lack of birthing centers and maternity care providers.
State health officer Dr. Scott Harris believes that's a factor in these bad numbers.
On the other hand, ADPH numbers show that the rate of teenagers giving birth in Alabama was at its lowest number ever.
