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July 3, 1991, Vol 266, No. 1 >
ARTICLE | July 3, 1991

Do We Have the Infant Mortality Rate We Desire? FREE

Herman A. Hein, MD
[+] Author Affiliations

Reprint requests to Statewide Perinatal Care Program, General Hospital W214, The University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Iowa City, IA 52242 (Dr Hein).


JAMA. 1991;266(1):114-115. doi:10.1001/jama.1991.03470010118042
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References

WHY DO we decry the United States' infant mortality rate? Don't we have the rate we want? Sarcasm? Yes. Overstatement? No!

If we polled the nation's political and health care leaders about these questions, they would hasten to dismiss them as sheer nonsense. After all, everyone knows how tragic it is that the United States ranks behind essentially all industrialized nations in infant mortality. Furthermore, our poor standing is not just a matter of variance in reporting; we really do very poorly when compared with other, similar nations. Thus, there seems to be a clear answer to the first question, "Of course we decry the infant mortality rate, we are doing very poorly."

The second question cannot be dismissed as easily. If we do not have the rate we desire, what are we doing to change the situation? Government leaders will note that we are providing more money for underprivileged

REFERENCES

1 +
Piper JA, Ray WA, Griffin MR.  Effects of Medicaid eligibility expansion on prenatal care and pregnancy outcome in Tennessee. JAMA . 1990;;264:2219-2223.
2 +
Hein HA, Burmeister LF, Papke KR.  The relationship of unwed status to infant mortality. Obstet Gynecol . 1990;;76:763-768.
3 +
Iams JD.  Obstetric inertia: an obstacle to the prevention of prematurity. Am J Obstet Gynecol . 1988;;159:796-799.
4 +
Stahlman MT.  Medical complications in premature infants: is treatment enough? N Engl J Med . 1989;;320:1551-1553.
5 +
Wise PH.  Poverty, technology and recent trends in the United States infant mortality rate. Pediatr Perinatal Epidemiol . 1990;;4:392-401.
6 +
Blessed Events and the Bottom Line: Financing Maternity Care in the United States . Chicago, Ill: The Alan Guttmacher Institute; 1987;:6.
7 +
Gordon RR, Sunderland R.  Maternal age, illegitimacy, and postneonatal mortality. BMJ . 1988;;297:774.
8 +
Panzarine S, Gould CL.  Knowledge about contraceptive use and conception among a group of urban, black adolescent mothers. J Obstet Gynecol Neonatal Nurs . 1988;;17:279-282.
9 +
Healthy Children, Investing in the Future: Summary . Washington, DC: Congress of the United States; 1988;:8. Publication OTA-H-346.
10 +
Furstenberg FF, Moore HA, Peterson JL.  Sex education and sexual experience among adolescents. Am J Public Health . 1985;;75:1331-1332.
11 +
Vincent ML, Clearie AF, Schluchter MD.  Reducing adolescent pregnancy through school and community-based education. JAMA . 1987;;257:3382-3386.
12 +
Queenan JT.  An idea whose time is long overdue. Contemp Obstet Gynecol . 1989;;33:9-10.
13 +
Holden C.  Networks nix contraceptives ad. Science . 1987;;238:887.
14 +
The National Commission to Prevent Infant Mortality. Death Before Life: The Tragedy of Infant Mortality . Washington, DC: The National Commission to Prevent Infant Mortality; 1988;.
15 +
Baker SL, Kotelchuck M.  Birthweight-specific mortality: important inequalities remain. J Rural Health . 1989;;5:155-170.
16 +
Gortmaker S, Sobol A, Clark C, Walker DK, Geronimus A.  The survival of very low—birth weight infants by level of hospital of birth: a population study of perinatal systems in four states. Am J Obstet Gynecol . 1985;;152:517-524.
17 +
Goldenberg RL, Humphrey JL, Hale CB, Boyd BW, Wayne JB.  Neonatal deaths in Alabama, II: policy and research implications derived from a comparison of birth weight—specific state and medical center neonatal mortality rates. Am J Obstet Gynecol . 1983;;146:450-455.

Figures

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Interactive Graphics

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Country-Specific Mortality and Growth Failure in Infancy and Yound Children and Association With Material Stature

Use interactive graphics and maps to view and sort country-specific infant and early dhildhood mortality and growth failure data and their association with maternal

1 +
Piper JA, Ray WA, Griffin MR.  Effects of Medicaid eligibility expansion on prenatal care and pregnancy outcome in Tennessee. JAMA . 1990;;264:2219-2223.
2 +
Hein HA, Burmeister LF, Papke KR.  The relationship of unwed status to infant mortality. Obstet Gynecol . 1990;;76:763-768.
3 +
Iams JD.  Obstetric inertia: an obstacle to the prevention of prematurity. Am J Obstet Gynecol . 1988;;159:796-799.
4 +
Stahlman MT.  Medical complications in premature infants: is treatment enough? N Engl J Med . 1989;;320:1551-1553.
5 +
Wise PH.  Poverty, technology and recent trends in the United States infant mortality rate. Pediatr Perinatal Epidemiol . 1990;;4:392-401.
6 +
Blessed Events and the Bottom Line: Financing Maternity Care in the United States . Chicago, Ill: The Alan Guttmacher Institute; 1987;:6.
7 +
Gordon RR, Sunderland R.  Maternal age, illegitimacy, and postneonatal mortality. BMJ . 1988;;297:774.
8 +
Panzarine S, Gould CL.  Knowledge about contraceptive use and conception among a group of urban, black adolescent mothers. J Obstet Gynecol Neonatal Nurs . 1988;;17:279-282.
9 +
Healthy Children, Investing in the Future: Summary . Washington, DC: Congress of the United States; 1988;:8. Publication OTA-H-346.
10 +
Furstenberg FF, Moore HA, Peterson JL.  Sex education and sexual experience among adolescents. Am J Public Health . 1985;;75:1331-1332.
11 +
Vincent ML, Clearie AF, Schluchter MD.  Reducing adolescent pregnancy through school and community-based education. JAMA . 1987;;257:3382-3386.
12 +
Queenan JT.  An idea whose time is long overdue. Contemp Obstet Gynecol . 1989;;33:9-10.
13 +
Holden C.  Networks nix contraceptives ad. Science . 1987;;238:887.
14 +
The National Commission to Prevent Infant Mortality. Death Before Life: The Tragedy of Infant Mortality . Washington, DC: The National Commission to Prevent Infant Mortality; 1988;.
15 +
Baker SL, Kotelchuck M.  Birthweight-specific mortality: important inequalities remain. J Rural Health . 1989;;5:155-170.
16 +
Gortmaker S, Sobol A, Clark C, Walker DK, Geronimus A.  The survival of very low—birth weight infants by level of hospital of birth: a population study of perinatal systems in four states. Am J Obstet Gynecol . 1985;;152:517-524.
17 +
Goldenberg RL, Humphrey JL, Hale CB, Boyd BW, Wayne JB.  Neonatal deaths in Alabama, II: policy and research implications derived from a comparison of birth weight—specific state and medical center neonatal mortality rates. Am J Obstet Gynecol . 1983;;146:450-455.

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