THURSDAY, Dec. 7, 2023 (HealthDay News) — A nonsignificant decline was seen in the U.S. perinatal mortality rate from 2020 to 2021, according to a December data brief published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Center for Health Statistics.

Claudia P. Valenzuela, M.P.H., from the National Center for Health Statistics in Hyattsville, Maryland, and colleagues used data from the National Vital Statistics System to describe changes in perinatal mortality from 2020 to 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The researchers found that in 2021, the U.S. perinatal mortality rate was 5.54 perinatal deaths per 1,000 live births and late fetal deaths, representing a nonsignificant decline from 5.64 in 2020. The late fetal mortality rate was essentially unchanged, while the early neonatal mortality rate decreased 4 percent from 2.86 to 2.75 from 2020 to 2021. No significant declines were seen in perinatal mortality rates by age of mother. From 2020 to 2021, there was a decline observed in the perinatal mortality rate for Black women, a nonsignificant decline for Hispanic women, and no change for White women. Compared with 2020, in 2021, there were declines noted in perinatal mortality in two states and no change in 48 states and the District of Columbia.

“After declining 4 percent from 2017 through 2019, the perinatal mortality rate declined, but not significantly, from 2020 (5.64) to 2021 (5.54),” the authors write.

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