Word: infantalizes
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Following a dramatic fall through the 20th century, the U.S. infant mortality rate - the proportion of babies who die before they reach their first birthday - has leveled off at just under seven deaths per 1,000 live births. That's a much higher rate than in other parts of the developed world. Across the European Union, for example, fewer than five in 1,000 babies die before they turn one. And in some stand-out countries like Japan, Singapore, Sweden and Norway, the proportion of babies who die is less than half that in the United States. Marian MacDorman...
...ranks rather poorly compared to most developed countries. NCHS publishes a book each year called Health, United States, which has international rankings, and in the latest [edition], which ranks data based on the 2004 data year, the U.S. ranked 29th in the world in infant mortality...
...main [factors] is whether the baby is delivered too small or too soon, which increases its chances of death. About two-thirds of all of our infant deaths occur among the 8.2% of babies that are born at low birth weight. Most developed countries have lower rates of preterm and low birth weight deliveries [than the U.S.] and that makes a difference in infant mortality rates...
...think the single most important thing we can do to lower the rate of infant mortality is to reduce the rate of preterm birth. But in fact the trend is going in the opposite direction - that rate [in the U.S.] is increasing. There are several causes of preterm birth. One is spontaneous preterm labor. But there's another component, which is medical intervention - for example, doing a preterm caesarean section or induction of labor. That component has been increasing as well, and I think that's worrisome...
...take a baby out a little bit early because they're going to do well - and it's true. It's only seven per 1,000 that are dying. Most of them do well. But still I think it's important to note that the infant mortality rate for late-preterm infants is three times what it is for [full-]term infants. This is not a difference that may be perceptible to the average obstetrician/gynecologist doing 300 deliveries a year. But when you're a statistician like me and you're grouping millions of births and thousands of infant deaths...