Infant mortality in Tennessee remains persistently higher than national average

Tennessee’s infant mortality rate is more than 16% higher than the national average, according to a new report by the Tennessee Department of Health. (Photo: Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

Tennessee’s infant mortality rate has dipped since 2019 but remains significantly and persistently higher than the national average, a new report published by the state’s health department found.

Black families in Tennessee continue to experience the heartbreak of losing a baby in the first year of life at twice the rate of white families, a stubborn disparity linked to maternal health, preterm births and access to prenatal care, among other factors. 

West Tennessee had some of the highest rates of infant mortality: 9.7 deaths per 1,000 live births. Knox County had the lowest at 3.4 deaths per 1,000 live births. 

Overall, Tennessee’s infant mortality rate of 6.5 deaths per 1,000 live births was 16% higher than the national average of 5.6 deaths per 1,000 live births. The report focuses on 2023 birth outcomes.

The 2023 infant deaths were largely a result of medical conditions, including preterm and low-birth-weight deliveries, and congenital disease. 

But unsafe sleeping practices, such as putting a baby to sleep on its belly, outside of a crib or bassinet or with blankets and stuffed animals that can potentially lead to suffocation, remained a significant factor in infant deaths. Sleep-related deaths claimed the lives of one in four babies between 2019 and 2023, the report found. Nearly four in five sleep-related deaths were deemed “preventable” by teams of experts who review child deaths.

The report makes a series of recommendations to combat Tennessee’s high rates of infant deaths. They include promoting safe sleep practices, smoking cessation programs and increasing awareness of prenatal services offered by public health departments.
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