U.S. Has Second Highest Infant Mortality Rates In Developed World

A new report from Save the Children shows that the United States has the second-highest infant mortality rate in the developed world, and that mortality rates for African American babies are double that of the national average.

1 minute read

May 12, 2006, 10:00 AM PDT

By Michael Dudley


"American babies are three times more likely to die in their first month as children born in Japan, and newborn mortality is 2.5 times higher in the United States than in Finland, Iceland or Norway, Save the Children researchers found.

Only Latvia, with six deaths per 1,000 live births, has a higher death rate for newborns than the United States, which is tied near the bottom of industrialized nations with Hungary, Malta, Poland and Slovakia with five deaths per 1,000 births.

The report, which analyzed data from governments, research institutions and international agencies, found higher newborn death rates among U.S. minorities and disadvantaged groups. For African-Americans, the mortality rate is nearly double that of the United States as a whole, with 9.3 deaths per 1,000 births."

Wednesday, May 10, 2006 in CNN

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