After five years of stagnation, the United States has managed to cut its infant mortality a bit. That is no great cause for celebration, especially since the rates remain far too high and so many other countries are doing so much better on this important measure of a nation’s health .
The infant mortality rate in America declined sharply in the 20th century but then plateaued from 2000 to 2005. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported this month that in 2006 the rate of infant deaths in the United States fell to 6.71 per 1,000 live births, down from 6.86 the previous year. That is still 50 percent higher than the official national goal of 4.5 deaths per thousand.
In 1960, the United States ranked 12th lowest in the world in infant mortality. By 2004, the last year for which comparative data are available, it had dropped to 29th, tied with Poland and Slovakia. Even with the improvement, it is still likely to rank 29th, far behind many Scandinavian and East Asian countries that report rates below 3.5.
Infant mortality is associated with many factors, including the health and economic status of the mother, her race or ethnicity, access to quality medical care, and such cultural problems as rising obesity and drug use.
That makes it difficult to identify the cause of the United States’ poor performance. Some researchers blame an increase in premature births, many by Caesarean section. The chief lesson we draw is that the American health care system, despite the highest expenditures in the world, is badly in need of an overhaul.