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Infant mortality rate (IMR) in the country has touched a record low of 25, a sharp dip of 37.5 per cent from 40 in 2013, according to the Sample Registration System report for 2023 issued by the Registrar General of India. IMR is a key public health indicator defined as number of deaths of children per 1,000 live births under one year -- the lower the number the better the health accessibility. According to the SRS 2023 report, which took into account the data for 2023, IMR has registered a dramatic 80 per cent decline from 129 in 1971. It shows that Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, and Uttar Pradesh reported the highest levels of IMR in the country at 37. The lowest was Manipur at 3. Kerala was the only of the 21 large states which reported a single digit IMR of 5. It is second in the country after Manipur. The report shows a countrywide decline of IMR from 44 to 28 in rural areas. In in urban areas of the country the numbers dipped from 27 to 18. This marks decadal drops of about 36
The US infant mortality rate rose 3 per cent last year the largest increase in two decades, according to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. White and Native American infants, infant boys and babies born at 37 weeks or earlier had significant death rate increases. The CDC's report, published on Wednesday, also noted larger increases for two of the leading causes of infant deaths maternal complications and bacterial meningitis. It's definitely concerning, given that it's going in the opposite direction from what it has been, said Marie Thoma, a University of Maryland researcher who studies maternal and infant mortality. Dr. Eric Eichenwald, a Philadelphia-based neonatologist, called the new data disturbing, but said experts at this point can only speculate as to why a statistic that generally has been falling for decades rose sharply in 2022. RSV and flu infections rebounded last fall after two years of pandemic precautions, filling pediatric emergency rooms across the