How one US city cut its infant mortality rate by half

A Flint, Michigan, cash-support programme was associated with neonatal mortality falling by nearly half, from 9.4 to 5.1 deaths per 1,000 live births. The findings suggest that providing money during pregnancy and early parenthood may help improve birth outcomes in a city with a persistently high infant death rate.

Rx Kids gives pregnant residents $1,500 when they enrol, usually in the first 16 weeks, then $500 a month until a year after birth. More than 90 per cent of eligible mothers in the region enrolled; families mainly spent the money on baby supplies, rent and food. The study measured deaths only in the first month after birth, so the programme’s effects across the full first year remain unknown; possible contributing factors include better access to prenatal care and fewer high-risk behaviours.