USA has the second worst newborn death rate in the modern world

The United States consistently earns a low rank in studies about newborn babies’ survival. Among 33 industrialized nations, the United States is currently tied with Hungary, Malta, Poland and Slovakia with a death rate of nearly 5 per 1,000 babies, according to a new report. The really disturbing news is that, among blacks in the USA, there are 9 deaths per 1,000 live births. This statistic is closer to the infant mortality rates in developing nations than to those in the industrialized world! The lack of any national health insurance and short maternity leaves (practically non-existent for some low income mothers) likely contribute to the poor U.S. rankings. Those factors can lead to poor health care before and during pregnancy (sometimes no prenatal care at all). This lack of adequate health care increases the risk of a premature birth and a low birth weight baby, which are the leading causes of newborn death in industrialized countries. Other factors that may contribute to the USA’s low ranking are teen pregnancies and obesity rates.

What can be done to help reverse this disturbing trend?

Some things that could improve in my opinion: more affordable prenatal care available for all expectant mothers, better access to licensed professional midwives for low-risk mothers, caregivers who spend more than 5 minutes in the room with the expectent mother answering questions and providing information, mentoring programs for expectant teen mothers, better follow-up in the post-partum period, availability of information about and access to birth control to prevent closely spaced or unplanned pregnancies and better breastfeeding education and support.

For more information -
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12699453/
and
http://www.cnn.com/2006/HEALTH/parenting/05/08/mothers.index/index.html