The US has the second-highest infant mortality rate among developed countries, with minorities at higher risk. Unequal access to healthcare, education, and birth control are contributing factors. African Americans are nearly twice as likely to experience child loss. Better care for mothers and babies is needed.
Many people were shocked when a 2006 report detailed that the infant mortality rate in the United States was the second highest in the world, among developed countries. Additionally, statistics regarding this rate have shown unnerving patterns. The figure was much higher in the United States among minorities and was often linked not only to infant deaths but also to maternal health risks. Since the report, there have been a number of theories as to why the infant mortality rate in the United States is so high, yet access to health care, education and information about pregnancy and birth control is probably a contribution.
Topping the list is unequal access to health care, especially among those who are very poor and adolescents with children. Good medical advice and monitoring of a pregnancy is an important contributing factor in babies being born at an appropriate birth weight, born at full term, and born healthy. There are poor people in all industrialized nations, but the United States lacks any kind of nationalized health insurance plan that would help ensure that all women have access to the care they need. Countries with government health plans tended to have the lowest infant mortality rates.
Women who were middle or upper class, and who had at least a high school diploma, were much more likely to have healthy children. Overall, the population most at risk of experiencing child loss are African Americans, who are nearly twice as likely to have a stillborn child or die within the first 24 hours of birth. While the average infant mortality rate in the United States is 5 deaths per 1,000 births, for African Americans this number rises to nearly 10 deaths per 1,000 births.
Not only education but also the availability of birth attendants is a contributing factor. This is a surprising statistic given that there are more obstetricians and neonatologists per person in the United States than in most other countries. Again, it’s probably about accessing these medical professionals and education about pregnancy and health care.
One of the other contributing factors cited is availability and education about birth control. When this is available, as is the case in most countries with the lowest infant mortality rates, adolescent girls, one of the groups most likely to experience preterm labor, are least likely to become pregnant. This reduces the total group of women who could lose a baby born seriously premature.
Along with the high infant mortality rate in the United States, there is also an increased risk for mothers. Deaths during pregnancy rise with the infant mortality rate, translating into greater risks for mothers. This is especially true when a mother does not deliver a baby with a birth attendant.
What can be deduced from studies like the one done in 2006 is that there are quite clear solutions to the problem. The country may be able to stop the problem by learning from other nations and helping to ensure better care for American mothers and babies.
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