Infant Mortality in Usa
Why is the Infant Mortality rate high in the USA?
Introduction
According to CIA World Fact book, infant mortality is defined as follows: "This entry gives the number of deaths of infants under one year old in a given year per 1,000 live births in the same year; included is the total death rate, and deaths by sex, male and female."
Total: 6.06 deaths/1,000 live births
Country comparison to the world: 176
Male: 6.72 deaths/1,000 live births
Female: 5.37 deaths/1,000 live births (2011 EST.) (Central Intelligence Agency CIA, 2011)
(https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/us.html)
Infant mortality is an important indicator of the health of a nation, as it is associated with a variety of factors such as maternal health, quality and access to medical care, socioeconomic conditions, and public health practices.8
Over 70 percent of under-five deaths occur within the first year of life. The proportion of under-five deaths that occur within the first month of life (the neonatal period) has increased about 10 percent since 1990 to more than 40 percent. (Levels and trends in child mortality report 2011, http://www.childinfo.org/mortality.html)
The United States spends more money on health care per person than any other country. Yet an American baby is less likely to reach its first birthday than a baby born in 21 other nations.14
The world’s most costly system of healthcare provides the least secure access of any developed nation. Fabulous tertiary care hospitals exist in blighted urban environments whose residents lack reliable access to basic health services.13
The 10 leading causes of infant mortality for 2009 were 15:
1. Congenital malformations, deformations and chromosomal abnormalities
2. Disorders related to short gestation and low birth weight, not elsewhere classified
3. Sudden infant death syndrome
Introduction
According to CIA World Fact book, infant mortality is defined as follows: "This entry gives the number of deaths of infants under one year old in a given year per 1,000 live births in the same year; included is the total death rate, and deaths by sex, male and female."
Total: 6.06 deaths/1,000 live births
Country comparison to the world: 176
Male: 6.72 deaths/1,000 live births
Female: 5.37 deaths/1,000 live births (2011 EST.) (Central Intelligence Agency CIA, 2011)
(https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/us.html)
Infant mortality is an important indicator of the health of a nation, as it is associated with a variety of factors such as maternal health, quality and access to medical care, socioeconomic conditions, and public health practices.8
Over 70 percent of under-five deaths occur within the first year of life. The proportion of under-five deaths that occur within the first month of life (the neonatal period) has increased about 10 percent since 1990 to more than 40 percent. (Levels and trends in child mortality report 2011, http://www.childinfo.org/mortality.html)
The United States spends more money on health care per person than any other country. Yet an American baby is less likely to reach its first birthday than a baby born in 21 other nations.14
The world’s most costly system of healthcare provides the least secure access of any developed nation. Fabulous tertiary care hospitals exist in blighted urban environments whose residents lack reliable access to basic health services.13
The 10 leading causes of infant mortality for 2009 were 15:
1. Congenital malformations, deformations and chromosomal abnormalities
2. Disorders related to short gestation and low birth weight, not elsewhere classified
3. Sudden infant death syndrome
Bibliography: 1. Abraham B. Bergman, 1986; The “discover” of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome: Lessons in the practice of political medicine, 10 2 6. Gary L. Comstock, 2002, ‘Life Sciences Ethics’ 269 7 8. Health Statistics- Vital and Health Statistics Trends in Infant Mortality by Cause of Death and Other Characteristics, 1960-88, Series 20: Data from the National Vital Statistics, System No 20 9 16. NIH News: Breastfeeding Decreases Infant Mortality, May 2, 2004 http://www.nih.gov/news/pr/may2004/niehs-02.htm 18. Salihu HM, Aliyu MH, Pierre-Louis BJ, Alexander GR; Levels of excess infant deaths attributable to maternal smoking during pregnancy in the United States, Matern Child Health J. 2003 Dec;7(4):21927 19