NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — The infant mortality rate in Tennessee is higher than the national average, which the March of Dimes is calling a crisis.

This news comes after a neighboring state, Mississippi, called a public health emergency because it's seeing the highest infant mortality rate in more than a decade.

"It’s sad to say, but Tennessee is one of the more dangerous states to give birth,” Kelley Marshburn, the March of Dimes executive director for Tennessee, said.

It’s a staggering headline that Marshburn said the Volunteer State wants to change.

“Every death is just heartbreaking to think about,” Marshburn said.

According to the Tennessee Department of Health, the state's infant mortality rate averaged 6.6 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2022. That’s higher than the national av

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