US rate of infant death worsens to 29th in world

Infant deaths in the United States continue to surpass most other rich nations, stalling at the same level from 2000 through 2005 while other countries improved, government researchers said.

Latest international data show the US ranking in infant mortality worsened to 29th worldwide, down from 27th in 2000 and 23rd in 1990, according to a report from the National Center for Health Statistics in Hyattsville, Md.

Researchers attribute the lack of progress in part to greater numbers of premature births, though the report said preliminary results suggested a small drop in US infant deaths from 2005 to 2006.

Infant mortality is one of the most important statistics for researchers assessing the health of nations. Japan, Sweden, Britain, Spain, France, Germany, Australia, and 15 other countries all had infant mortality rates of fewer than 5 deaths for every 1,000 births in 2004, about 26 percent below the US rate of just under seven deaths per 1,000 live births through the last five years for which data are complete, ending in 2005.

"The plateau we have had is of great concern" Marian MacDorman, a senior statistician and author of the report, said in a telephone interview yesterday. "Even if it is declining again, as the research suggests, we missed out on some gains during the plateau, and other indicators associated with infant mortality are going in the wrong direction."

An analysis of about 95 percent of US birth records suggests a 2 percent decline in infant mortality in 2006, MacDorman said. The US ranking of 29th puts it even with Poland and Slovakia.

Blacks had the highest rate of infant mortality in 2005, at 13.63 deaths per 1,000 live births, or about double the national average. Rates among Puerto Ricans and Native Americans topped eight deaths per 1,000 live births.