And the Shrub Misadministration racks up another success
US infant-mortality rate increases for first time in 40 years
WASHINGTON -- The number of US babies dying shortly after birth has crept up for the first time in more than four decades, federal health officials reported yesterday.
The cause of the small but disturbing rise remains unclear, but it may be a combination of the surge in older women having babies, the popularity of fertility treatments, and, paradoxically, advancements in identifying and saving fetuses in distress, specialists said.
Nevertheless, the surprising increase has raised alarm because the infant mortality rate is considered a fundamental measure of a society's well-being.
"It's always a matter of concern when an important measure of public health such as infant mortality increases," said Joyce Martin of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which released the new numbers. "It's so basic. The saving of young lives is important to everyone."
I am not sure why these people think that the cause is unclear, Poverty is up, unemployment is up, Median wages are down, the number of Uninsured is up.
The United States has long had one of the highest infant mortality rates among developed countries, and the rate had either declined or remained steady every year since 1958. So government scientists were caught off guard when a preliminary analysis of the most recent data showed that the infant mortality rate had inched up 3 percent, climbing from 6.8 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2001 to 7.0 deaths in 2002.
Here is a table ranking
countries by Infant mortality rate
