Wisconsin Department of Health Services Releases Two New Reports on Birth Outcomes

Friday, May 19th, 2023 -- 1:00 PM

The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) released two new reports on birth outcomes that continue to shed light on how to best reduce and address significant disparities in infant deaths across Wisconsin.

The Wisconsin Perinatal Periods of Risk (PPOR) reports analyze the factors that contribute to inequalities in fetal and infant mortality to help focus public health prevention efforts. Data from the DHS Maternal and Infant Mortality Prevention Unit show Wisconsin’s overall infant mortality rate, which represents the number of infant deaths per 1,000 live births, was 5.7 for 2019-2021.

However, the data continue to show troubling disparities, with non-Hispanic Black infants three times more likely to die before their first birthdays than non-Hispanic white infants. During those same years, the infant mortality rate for American Indian or Alaska Native infants was 1.5 times the rate for non-Hispanic white infants.

The PPOR reports describe factors contributing to infant mortality inequities impacting non-Hispanic Black, American Indian, and Alaskan Native communities in Wisconsin. The results found two key areas of focus to reduce inequities: low birthweight and sudden unexpected infant death (SUID), a term used to describe the death of an infant less than 365 days old in which the cause of death is not clear before investigation.

Wisconsin residents experiencing these higher infant mortality rates are those most likely to be impacted by access to care, lack of reproductive autonomy, and chronic stress related to things like poverty, food and housing insecurity, and racism.

These factors play a role in low birthweight and SUID by not only impacting how the body functions, but also creating barriers to resources that can reduce the likelihood of these outcomes. The reports also emphasize the need for approaches that create systemic change and recognize past and current systemic harms and their impacts on health.

DHS further recommends future efforts focus on the areas identified by these reports to address health disparities and inequities in maternal and infant health and emphasizes the need for trauma-informed prevention efforts that include voices from impacted communities.

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