Mississippi health officials declared a public health emergency last week in response to the state’s rising infant mortality rate, stating that too many “families are losing their babies before their first birthday.”
“We cannot and will not accept these numbers as our reality,” State Health Officer Dr. Dan Edney wrote. “Declaring this a public health emergency is more than a policy decision; it is an urgent commitment to save lives. Mississippi has the knowledge, the resources and the resilience to change this story.”
Data collected from the state’s health department revealed the 2024 overall infant mortality rate in Mississippi increased to 9.7 deaths per 1,000 live births. Since 2014, 3,527 babies have died in the state before reaching age 1.
The data also show that the Black infant mortality rate in Mississippi was more than twice as high as the mortality rate for white infants in 2024.
Congenital malformations, preterm birth, low birth weight and sudden infant death syndrome are the leading causes of Mississippi’s infant deaths. Edney said the best way to reduce infant mortality is by improving maternal health.
“That means better access to prenatal and postpartum care, stronger community support and more resources for moms and babies,” Edney wrote. “Healthy women of childbearing age are more likely to have healthy pregnancies, which in turn lead to healthier babies.”
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Edney is calling for an increase in prenatal care opportunities, expanding community health worker programs, and educating families on safe sleep practices.
However, recent Trump administration cuts to federal health programs may thwart Mississippi’s goal of reducing infant deaths.
Earlier this year, the administration axed the team behind the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System, or PRAMS, which operates under the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and maintains a dataset on U.S. births for OB-GYN research, MedPage Today reported. All 17 members received a reduction-in-force notice and were on administrative leave until June 2.
Experts who spoke to the health news site emphasized the program’s importance as a vital resource for research and said losing access to the surveillance data would be devastating.
Dr. Sindhu Srinivas, president of the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine, told MedPage Today that data from PRAMS is “critical because it allows us to monitor and understand emerging issues that impact maternal and child health outcomes.”
Cuts to Medicaid under President Donald Trump’s so-called Big, Beautiful Bill present another challenge for some low-income and uninsured pregnant people in Mississippi. According to data by KFF Health News, 57% of births in Mississippi were covered by Medicaid in 2023.
“It will take all of us — policymakers, healthcare providers, communities and families — working together to give every child the chance to live, thrive and celebrate their first birthday,” Edney wrote.
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