Two new reports on birth outcomes released by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services show alarming racial disparities among infant mortality rates. Between 2019 and 2021 non-Hispanic Black infants were three times more likely to die before they turned one, when compared to their non-Hispanic white peers. From 2019 to 2021, the infant mortality rate for American Indian and Alaskan Native infants was 1.5 times the rate of non-Hispanic white infants. Fond du Lac County Public Health Officer Kim Mueller says it’s a tragedy. Wisconsin’s overall infant mortality rate was 5.7 per 1,000 live births. Mueller says the report found two key areas of focus to reduce inequities were low birthweight and sudden unexpected infant death. The reports also emphasized the need for approaches that create systemic change and recognize past and current systemic harms and their impacts on health.
