For years, Flint has faced an infant mortality rate that has been at times more than double the national average. | Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via Getty Images A decade ago, a water lead crisis launched Flint, Michigan, into national headlines. But for years, the city of roughly 80,000 has also quietly carried the weight of a tragically high newborn mortality rate.  In 2024, there were 9.4 infant deaths for every 1,000 births in Flint — nearly twice the mortality rate of 5.54 in the US, which itself outpaces all other high-income nations.  But a new study shows that there might be a w...