JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) – A new study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showed a rise in the U.S. infant mortality rate. Mississippi is once again at the bottom of the list.
Infant mortality is the number of infants who are not able to live to make it to their first birthday. Nationally, the rate rose in 2022 for the first time in 20 years.
Dr. Justin Turner, chief medical officer for the Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH), said the mortality rate starts with the care for the mother.
“A lot of those causes that I talked about, a lot of those result from some of our moms not even having their first prenatal visit until the second and third trimester. So, we can engage these moms early on in pregnancy that can improve their health outcomes, and a healthy mom makes a healthy baby,” said Turner.
Health officials said many factors contribute to the infant mortality rate, but working with the Mississippi Legislature to help improve the care of women remains a top priority.
“We have seen some wins with the passage of our postpartum extension with Cynthia Blackwell leading that cause. And just this past legislative session, we saw the passage of presumptive eligibility for our Medicaid moms, which is a huge game changer. We have to collectively figure out how to improve health care in this maternity desert. We call it Mississippi, where half our counties don’t even have an OBGYN. So, you can’t get to a OBGYN within 40 miles of where you live, it makes it difficult to be able to engage and have adequate health care,” said Turner.
He said MSDH is improving the way they care for moms across the state.