The infant mortality rate has risen for the first time in two decades—and these factors may be to blame

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The infant mortality rate in the US increased for the first time in two decades from 2021 to 2022, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The last time the rate increased was from 2001 to 2002, but from 2002 to 2021 the rate declined by 22 per cent. Then, it rose 3 per cent from 2021—which saw 19,928 infant deaths—to 2022, which saw 20,538.