Newborn survival improves when families receive financial support.

Researchers report that the rate of newborn deaths in Flint, Michigan, fell by half after the launch of a program that gives unconditional cash to pregnant residents and their infants. The findings were published November 2 in JAMA Pediatrics.

The team compared neonatal deaths, defined as deaths in the first four weeks of life, in 2025 with those from 2021 through 2024. Flint's neonatal mortality rate dropped from 10 deaths per 1,000 live births to 5 per 1,000. The early neonatal rate, which covers deaths in the first week of life, fell from 8 per 1,000 to 2 per 1,000. Rates in the rest of Michigan stayed stable over the same period.

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The program, called Rx Kids, began in Flint in January 2024. Families receive $1,500 once during pregnancy and then $500 per month during the baby's first year. Residents who are at least 16 weeks pregnant, or who have a newborn up to 6 months old, can enroll. Public and private funds back the program, and nearly 100 percent of the community takes part. Flint has a high rate of child poverty and has dealt with the health effects of lead contamination in its water system.

Mona Hanna of the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine in Flint, who founded and directs Rx Kids, said families have spent the money on diapers, transportation, housing and safe places for babies to sleep. "As a pediatrician, there is no outcome more important than babies surviving," she said. She described the results as early findings that suggest financial support may help save babies' lives.

The article notes that income tends to fall and expenses rise in the months around a birth, and that housing instability and homelessness are associated with preterm birth and low birth weight. Studies have linked Rx Kids to greater access to prenatal care, a lower preterm birth rate, fewer low-weight births and fewer neonatal intensive care admissions. The program has since expanded to dozens of communities in Michigan and Ohio.