Wednesday, May 10, 2006

ProLife Nation?Why does US have 2nd worst Infant Mortality Rate of any 1st World Nation?

Speaking of pregnancies, deaths, and risks, here is this utterly shameful US ranking (via CNN): "The US has the 2nd worst newborn mortality rate in the developed world. Only Latvia, w/ 6 deaths per 1000 live births, has a higher death rate for newborns than the US, which is tied near the bottom of industrialized nations w/ Hungary, Malta, Poland & Slovakia w/5 deaths per 1000 births. WTF? We tied w/E European nations? US babies are 3x's more likely to die in their 1st month as babies born in Japan, and newborn mortality is 2.5x's higher in the US than in Finland, Iceland or Norway. The newborn mortality rate in the US has fallen in recent decades, but continues to affect minorities disproportionately. Only 17% of all US births were to blacks, but 33% of all low-birthweight babies were Afr-Amer. The research also found that poorer mothers w/ less education were at a significantly higher risk of early delivery. The study added that lower educ was associated w/ higher newborn mortality. Japan was among the nations highly ranked mainly b/c they offer free health services for pregnant women & babies, while the US suffers from disparities in access to health care." (B/c we CHOOSE to) If this news doesn't disgust you, it should. This ranking is utterly shameful b/c the "US has more neonatologists and neonatal intensive care beds per person than Australia, Canada and the UK, but its newborn rate is higher than any of those countries." And what do Australia, Canada & the UK have that we do not? National healthcare.
Posted by Tina :: 12:40 AM :: 5 Comments:

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