Alabama saw a spike in infant deaths last year, reaching the highest rate since 2016, state health officials said.

Of the nearly 58,000 babies born last year, 449 did not reach one year old, according to the Alabama Department of Public Health. That’s a rate of 7.8 deaths for every 1,000 births and a big spike from 2022.

“Many factors contribute to infant mortality, including race, poverty, educational levels, and access,” said Dr. Scott Harris, the state health officer, in a news release today. “It is discouraging that racial disparities remain in birth outcomes, and the Black infant mortality rate is twice the rate for white infants.”

In 2022, the infant mortality rate dipped to 6.7. That was the lowest ever recorded in the state, though still higher than the national average of 5.6 deaths for every 1,000 births.

In 2023, 229 white infants died as the mortality rate rose to 5.7, up from 4.3 in 2022 — a difference of 55 more babies who died last year.

The infant mortality rate for Black infants increased to 13 per 1,000 births, up from 12.4 in 2022. The 204 Black infants who died in 2023 was an increase of three deaths over the previous year.

According to ADPH, the three leading causes of death for babies in 2023 were:

• Congenital malformations, deformations and abnormalities
• Disorders related to short gestation and low birth weight
• Sudden infant death syndrome

Harris said that where mothers live could be a factor in the higher death rates.

“A possible reason is limited access to prenatal care and the proximity of hospitals to where these mothers live,” he said. “Challenges to improve the health of all mothers and babies continue.”

A 2023 report by March of Dimes found that over a third of Alabama counties are classified as “maternity care deserts,” meaning they don’t have access to birthing centers or maternity care providers.

On average, women in Alabama had to travel about 18 miles to the nearest hospital to give birth, the report found. The state has lost nearly a quarter of its birthing hospitals in the last few years.

Over half of the mothers who lost babies last year were on Medicaid, according to ADPH, and 2023 saw the highest number of births with no prenatal care.

The rate of teenagers giving birth, however, reached its lowest number ever in the state, at 3,467 births.

ADPH said they are implementing a number of approaches to bring down the state’s infant mortality rate, including:

• Partnering with medical providers to provide prenatal care in nine rural counties
• Providing cribs for families to prevent sleep-related deaths
• Expanding access to a disease detection programs that help with healthier pregnancies from nine counties to 12
• Increasing insurance coverage statewide for low-income pregnant women under the ALL Babies program.

“There is no easy solution; we must follow evidence-based practices to save lives,” Harris said in the release.