After Roe was overturned, the US saw a spike in infant mortality, researchers say

Researchers at Ohio State University released findings this week showing that infant mortality increased after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022.

According to the study, infant mortality nationally increased by 7% after the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health ruling. There was also a 10% increase in babies born with genetic and chromosomal conditions in the months after the ruling. These increases were noted in the period of seven to 14 months after the Supreme Court ruling.

The researchers say other studies have shown similar results.

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“I’m not sure people expected infant mortality to increase after Dobbs. It’s not necessarily what people were thinking about. But limiting access to health care could have a broader public health impact than can be anticipated,” said Maria Gallo, an OSU professor of epidemiology.

The study did not reflect state-by-state differences, but the study authors said they expect the impact to be greater in states with more restrictive abortion laws.

Researchers said they took into account routine variations that could occur over the course of a year.

“Birth outcomes tend to be quite stable in any population, and in a large population like the entire US, infant mortality tends to be quite consistent, apart from some predictable seasonal peaks and troughs,” says co-author Parvati Singh.

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The researchers say it is possible that this spike in infant mortality was temporary.

“Will this continue after this period? That’s an open question,” Gallo said. “This could be happening because access to abortion care has been cut off in some states. But it could also be that eventually more policymakers in the state will realize that this is not what people in the state want, and more and more policymakers will enact constitutional changes to protect access.”