Infant Immortality
Infant Mortality in the United States
Trends in infant mortality are considered to be a
barometer of technology and an accurate indicator of the
health of a society. Despite technological excellence and
numerous social programs offered throughout the country, the
infant mortality rate (IMR) in the United States continues to
be a national concern. For many, “infant mortality” brings
to mind the deprivation and poverty found in third world
countries. Yet in the United States, nearly 40,000 children
die every year for some of the same reasons that cause
infant death in underdeveloped parts of the world
(Anderson, 1987).
Infant mortality is prevalent in this country
despite ...
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was higher than in 23 other countries
or territories, including most of Western Europe, Hong
Kong, and Singapore. The US infant mortality rate was
about 20 percent higher than Norway’s, nearly 50 percent
higher than in the Netherlands, and 200 percent higher
than Japan’s (Eberstadt et al., 1991). The United States
has not always fared so poorly in this international ranking.
In the early 1950’s it ranked sixth best (Anderson et al.,
1987).
The Select Committee on Hunger held a Congressional
hearing on infant mortality in the United States on April
29, 1987. Representative Mickey Leland (D., TX), the
committee’s chairperson, acknowledged the continued statistical improvements over the prior two decades. But he was very
critical of the decline of the United States in the international ranking, expressing dismay that a country as wealthy and
powerful as the United States should have an infant mortality
rate worse than that of 16 other ...
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occurrence): postnatal
asphyxia, immaturity, birth defects, birth injuries, influenza/pneumonia, accidents, pneumonia/newborn, gastritis
and other GI disorders, hemolytic disease, and immaturity
with other complications. Over the past three decades, advances
in neonatal intensive care have changed the leading causes of
infant mortality. In 1992, the ten leading causes were: birth defects, sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), preterm/low birthweight, respiratory distress syndrome (RDS), maternal complications of pregnancy, complications during birth,
infections, accidents, hypoxia/birth asphyxia, and pneumonia/influenza (March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation,
1996).
...
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Infant Immortality. (2005, May 10). Retrieved April 25, 2024, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Infant-Immortality/26661
"Infant Immortality." Essayworld.com. Essayworld.com, 10 May. 2005. Web. 25 Apr. 2024. <http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Infant-Immortality/26661>
"Infant Immortality." Essayworld.com. May 10, 2005. Accessed April 25, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Infant-Immortality/26661.
"Infant Immortality." Essayworld.com. May 10, 2005. Accessed April 25, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Infant-Immortality/26661.
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