Mississippi high infant mortality rate has led the state to declare a public health emergency.
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Mississippi declared a public health emergency for the first time in recent history, sounding the alarm on the highest infant mortality rates the state has seen in more than a decade. Mississippi ranks last in the nation in infant mortality, with 9.7 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2024 compared to the national rate of 5.5 deaths per 1,000 live births, according to American Health Rankings and data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The declaration gives state leaders the ability mobilize the healthcare workforce and implement a strategy to address equitable access to care. The strategy includes obstetrics system of care, eliminating obstetrics deserts, activating community health workers and establishing new hospital and medical provider partnerships.
A Longtime Problem
Although the public health emergency declaration is new, Mississippi’s low infant mortality rates are not. It’s been a problem for years. There were 8.2 infant deaths per 1,000 live births in 2014 and a loss of more than 300 infants in the same year, per the state Department of Health Infant Mortality Report. Those rates continue to rise; the state’s infant mortality rate in 2022 was 9.2 per 1,000.
Black infant mortality in the state is even steeper, reflecting decades of maternal health disparities across Mississippi, with rates ranging from 11.1 to 15.2 deaths per 1,000 live births between 2014 and 2024. White infant mortality rates have ranged from 5.9 to 5.8 deaths per 1,000 live births within the same decade.
Infant mortality is a reflection of the state’s maternal health. Between 2012 and 2023, the Mississippi maternal mortality rate was 23.2 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births compared to the national rate of 18.6 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births.
Black women had the highest maternal deaths rates across the nation in 2023 — 50.3 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births, higher than rates for white (14.5), Hispanic (12.4), and Asian (10.7) women, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“Improving maternal health is the best way to reduce infant mortality,” said Dr. Dan Edney. “That means better access to prenatal and postpartum care, stronger community support, and more resources for moms and babies.”
4th February 1980: A close-up of premature baby Linda Lawrence holding the hand of her mother Maureen. She was 9 weeks premature. (Photo by Mike Moore/Evening Standard/Getty Images)
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How Medicaid Affects Infant And Maternal Mortality Rates
Medicaid coverage increases access to essential care and resources through pregnancy, delivery, and postpartum. These essential care services are associated with reduced disparities in maternal and infant health, including lower rates of maternal mortality.
Mississippi is one of 10 states that have chosen not to expand Medicaid coverage, according to the 2025 KFF report on the Status of State Medicaid Expansion Decisions. Medicaid expansion in Mississippi could cover 123,000 uninsured adults, including 74,000 in the coverage gap.
Medicaid is the primary source of coverage for nearly 24 million women in the United States, including 4.4 million Black women, the population with the greatest maternal mortality disparities in the US. Medicaid finances 57% of all births in Mississippi. Per a Families USA report, “In 2023, the maternal mortality rate in non-expansion states was 34% higher than in expansion states.”
Public health and health insurance analysts report that proposed federal funding caps and work requirements could raise the state’s uninsured rate and further strain rural hospitals.
Medicaid expansion improves infant mortality rates, but this is only one essential strategy to address ongoing racial and ethnic disparities that are directly linked to the social determinants of maternal health.
Other Strategies To Lower Mortality Rates
Between 2017-2021, 83% of pregnancy related deaths were “deemed preventable,” the Mississippi Department of Health noted in its 2024 Mississippi Maternal Mortality Report.
The report highlights recommendations from the Mississippi Maternal Mortality Review Committee, urging the need to expand Medicaid, increase designated dollars to protect the health of women and children and increase provider education on maternal health warning signs including education on preeclampsia, blood pressure monitoring, and hypertension.
The MMRC also notes that improving the maternal health to further address infant mortality means increasing provider training in “cultural competency and empathy, providing resources to educate men and women on the identification of unhealthy relationships, interpersonal violence, and emotional/mental abuse.”
The declaration of public health emergency aligns with the recommendations from the MMRC, per the report: “communities, medical, and public health professionals should communicate a sense of urgency around urgent maternal warning signs.”
Given the history of maternal and infant mortality in Mississippi, leaders of the state health department have noted the collective efforts essential to shifting this narrative.
“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 said.
