Alabama’s Infant Mortality Rates Drop Although Racial Gap Grows

There are plenty of things that need to improve in the state of Alabama.

Many would argue that our education systems need work, roads, and the economy. According to new data from Alabama's Infant Mortality report, the state's overall infant mortality rate has dropped but the racial disparities have sadly grown.

According to the report, white Alabamians saw an infant mortality rate of 4.3 per 1,000 births in 2022, Black Alabamians, however, saw a rate that year of 12.4, an increase over 2021’s rate of 12.1.

White Alabamian's infant mortality rate is an improvement from 5.8 in 2021.

For at least the last eight years, Black infants in Alabama have been dying at a rate of at least double the rate of white infants.

What is the reason for these alarming numbers?

“The improvements in infant mortality, by and large, are occurring among white Alabamians,” said State Health Officer Scott Harris, according to Alabama Daily News.

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“The numbers that we see among Black Alabamians, unfortunately, have not changed like we’d like. When you look at rates, unfortunately, we see a lot of our more rural counties as the ones that have the highest rates.”

According to the Infant Mortality Report, Black Alabamians saw their lowest infant mortality rate within the last 9 years in 2020. Even then, the rate was more than double the infant mortality rate for white Alabamians.

Alabama Daily News says that during a board meeting for the Alabama Department of Public Health, One ADPH board member asked Harris why the rates of white and Black Alabamians were so different, and growing further apart. Harris said the disparities largely revolve around one thing: poverty.

You can read more about that ADPH board meeting here.

If you'd like to take a look at the full According to the Infant Mortality Report, you can click here.