The CDC just reported significant increases in both infant mortality (deaths of children less than a year old) and neonatal mortality (deaths of infants under one month old) that started in 2022 and continued in 2023. Rates have been declining over the last several years, but this marks the first year-to-year increase in more than two decades.

Unbelievably, ABC News explains how unusual these increases are, but attributes them to “a lack or absence of maternity care — which limits the ability to care for infants properly.” and limiting of access to abortion, particularly following the Supreme Court decision of Dobbs v. Jackson in June 2022, which overturned Roe v. Wade.

The article below was originally authored by Igor-Chudov has looked at other evidence that might explain these deaths.

ABC Blames “Republicans” for Infant Mortality Increases Following COVID Vaccinations Of Pregnant Moms and Babies

Supreme Court Magically Causes Increase in SEPSIS among newborns

I put an annotated screenshot of the above page so you can see how increases in infant mortality match COVID vaccination of pregnant women:

Be aware that the above numbers are 12-month averages, not stats for just one quarter. Therefore, the changes are smoothed out and seem more gradual than they are.

The picture above shows that infant mortality rose following Covid vaccination of pregnant women, which CDC recommended in Aug 2021:

Several news outlets, such as ABC News, reported this:

ABC News explains how unusual these increases in infant mortality are, as this has not happened for twenty years prior: Although rates have been declining over the last several years, this marks the first year-to-year increase in more than two decades when the rate rose from 6.8 deaths per 1,000 in 2001 to 7.0 deaths in 2002.

Both infant mortality (deaths of children less than a year old) and neonatal mortality (deaths of infants under one month old) have increased.

The neonatal mortality rate — infant deaths at less than 28 days of life — also rose 3% from 3.49 per 1,000 live births in 2021 to 3.58 in 2022 and the postneonatal mortality rate — infant deaths between 28 and 364 days of life — grew 4% from 1.95 per 1,000 to 2.02 over the same period.

The largest significantly affected category is White women:

Increases for other groups (such as Black or Hispanic women) were not statistically significant. However, puzzlingly, one “health expert” interviewed by ABC still denounced “health disparities” despite the lack of statistically significant effect on other minority groups.

“Disparities in health care and outcomes exist in everything,” Wilkinson said. “When you have restrictions to health care access, that always impacts minoritized communities more and what this data is showing is that now it’s also impacting non-minoritized communities like white women.”

The above word salad sounds authoritative, but it is logically incoherent.

Mind you, the minorities with lower increases in child mortality, such as black or Hispanic women, were famously reluctant to get vaccinated in 2021:

Maternal Complications and Sepsis

The two causes of increased infant mortality are mentioned: maternal complications and sepsis.

Mortality rates also increased significantly for two of the 10 leading causes of death: maternal complications and bacterial sepsis. (ABC News)

Sepsis, a bacterial infection of the whole body, is caused by immune suppression, as Wikipedia explains:

A while ago, I pointed out a study demonstrating immune suppression in small children following COVID-19 vaccination: Igor’s Newsletter Pfizer’s COVID Vaccine Causes VAIDS in Children, Study Proves

The immune suppression following mothers’ COVID vaccination, as well as vaccination of 6-month-old infants, could easily explain the increase in sepsis!

Indeed, Moderna-vaccinated children had many more hospitalizations (9:1 compared to the control group) for various mundane infections, which healthy immune systems can usually control: A couple of weeks ago, I reported on an Australian study showing a marked decline of innate immune responses in children 5-11 years old after their COVID vaccinations. That article created quite a reaction on social media. Two fact-checks were published… Igor’s Newsletter VAIDS in Children: More Hard Evidence of Negative Clinical Outcomes

Republicans Blamed for Infant Mortality

In possibly the most amusing twist, ABC News found a “health expert” who laid the blame for increases in child mortality on Republicans, abortions, and the Supreme Court.

Without any accompanying evidence, Dr. Tracey Wilkinson, an associate professor of pediatrics at Indiana University School of Medicine who is an expert on women’s access to reproductive health care, points out the culprit:

Dr. Tracey Wilkinson, an associate professor of pediatrics at Indiana University School of Medicine who is an expert on women’s access to reproductive health care, told ABC News she’s not surprised by the findings and that she sees a couple of reasons for the increase in infant mortality rates.

The second is limiting of access to abortion, particularly following the Supreme Court decision of Dobbs v. Jackson in June 2022, which overturned Roe v. Wade.

“Any pregnancy that is intended and planned tends to be a healthier outcome and healthy infant outcome,” Wilkinson, who was not involved in the report, said. “So, when you remove the ability for people to decide if and when to have families and continue pregnancies, ultimately, you are having more pregnancies continue that don’t have all those factors in place.”

In possibly the most damning self-own, ABC News points out that less than 3% of women live in a county without access to abortion:

A recent analysis from ABC News and Boston Children’s Hospital found more than 1.7 million women, nearly 3% of women of reproductive age in the U.S., live in a county without access to abortion and with no access to maternity care.

Nevertheless, the health experts and journalists do not seem to be willing to look at the actual evidence, instead interviewing partisan “health experts” spouting abject nonsense.

I am not sure how the Supreme Court and Republicans can cause an increase in sepsis, but perhaps I am missing something!

by Igor-Chudov