SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
USA: The Global Superpower That Once Again Fails Infant Mortality Test
CDC report finds disparities between black and white women have 'more than doubled over the past decade'
Aug 06, 2015
Federal data released Thursday shows that the infant mortality rate in the United States remains one of the worst in the developed world, at three times the rate of Japan, Norway, and Sweden and double that of Ireland.
The report from the National Center for Health Statistics, part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, found that 5.96 out of every 1,000 U.S. babies died in 2013 during birth or their first year. This level was similar to the rate of 5.98 found in 2012, suggesting infant mortality has stalled.
According to World Bank figures, the 2013 rate means that the U.S. is not only outdone by "first world" nations, but also some considered "second world," including Cuba.
The CDC analysis did note that infant mortality dropped in 2013 from 6.86 per 1,000 live births in 2005.
However, the report found that the gap between white and black women is growing.
Black women in 2013 had the highest infant mortality rate in the United States at 11.11 per 1,000 births. This is more than double the rate of white women (5.06).
Further, the report states that "the disparity in the infant mortality rate between non-Hispanic black and non-Hispanic white women has more than doubled over the past decade."
Infant mortality rates among Puerto Rican mothers were also high at 5.93 per 1,000 live births.
The CDC's findings follow a report (pdf) released last year by the Commonwealth Fund which finds that the U.S. healthcare system is the most expensive in the world yet delivers the worse care among 11 industrialized nations.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Sarah Lazare
Sarah Lazare is the editor of Workday Magazine and a contributing editor for In These Times. She is a former Staff Writer at Common Dreams. She comes from a background in independent journalism for publications including The Intercept, The Nation, and Tom Dispatch.
Federal data released Thursday shows that the infant mortality rate in the United States remains one of the worst in the developed world, at three times the rate of Japan, Norway, and Sweden and double that of Ireland.
The report from the National Center for Health Statistics, part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, found that 5.96 out of every 1,000 U.S. babies died in 2013 during birth or their first year. This level was similar to the rate of 5.98 found in 2012, suggesting infant mortality has stalled.
According to World Bank figures, the 2013 rate means that the U.S. is not only outdone by "first world" nations, but also some considered "second world," including Cuba.
The CDC analysis did note that infant mortality dropped in 2013 from 6.86 per 1,000 live births in 2005.
However, the report found that the gap between white and black women is growing.
Black women in 2013 had the highest infant mortality rate in the United States at 11.11 per 1,000 births. This is more than double the rate of white women (5.06).
Further, the report states that "the disparity in the infant mortality rate between non-Hispanic black and non-Hispanic white women has more than doubled over the past decade."
Infant mortality rates among Puerto Rican mothers were also high at 5.93 per 1,000 live births.
The CDC's findings follow a report (pdf) released last year by the Commonwealth Fund which finds that the U.S. healthcare system is the most expensive in the world yet delivers the worse care among 11 industrialized nations.
Sarah Lazare
Sarah Lazare is the editor of Workday Magazine and a contributing editor for In These Times. She is a former Staff Writer at Common Dreams. She comes from a background in independent journalism for publications including The Intercept, The Nation, and Tom Dispatch.
Federal data released Thursday shows that the infant mortality rate in the United States remains one of the worst in the developed world, at three times the rate of Japan, Norway, and Sweden and double that of Ireland.
The report from the National Center for Health Statistics, part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, found that 5.96 out of every 1,000 U.S. babies died in 2013 during birth or their first year. This level was similar to the rate of 5.98 found in 2012, suggesting infant mortality has stalled.
According to World Bank figures, the 2013 rate means that the U.S. is not only outdone by "first world" nations, but also some considered "second world," including Cuba.
The CDC analysis did note that infant mortality dropped in 2013 from 6.86 per 1,000 live births in 2005.
However, the report found that the gap between white and black women is growing.
Black women in 2013 had the highest infant mortality rate in the United States at 11.11 per 1,000 births. This is more than double the rate of white women (5.06).
Further, the report states that "the disparity in the infant mortality rate between non-Hispanic black and non-Hispanic white women has more than doubled over the past decade."
Infant mortality rates among Puerto Rican mothers were also high at 5.93 per 1,000 live births.
The CDC's findings follow a report (pdf) released last year by the Commonwealth Fund which finds that the U.S. healthcare system is the most expensive in the world yet delivers the worse care among 11 industrialized nations.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.