US Falls Behind Other Wealthy Countries in Infant Mortality Rates

A report by the United Nations’ children’s rights agency found that the United States’ infant mortality rate is below average for high-income countries, and is only slightly lower than that of less economically-stable countries including Ukraine and Sri Lanka.

Four out of every 1,000 American newborns die within a month of being born, while other wealthy nations have an average infant mortality rate of three per 1,000 live births, according to UNICEF’s report, entitled “Every Child Alive.”

Iceland and Japan had the two lowest infant mortality rates, and countries including Finland, France, Estonia, and Germany all had far better rates of newborn survival. The vast majority of the countries on the report’s list of high-income nations have government-run healthcare systems instead of allowing healthcare to be treated as a product offered by private health insurance companies like the United States does.

“We know we can save the vast majority of these babies with affordable, quality healthcare solutions for every mother and every newborn,” Henrietta Fore, UNICEF’s executive director, told the Guardian of worldwide infant mortality rates. “Just a few small steps from all of us can help ensure the first small steps of each of these young lives.”

The report noted that Rwanda successfully cut its infant mortality rate in half—from 41 out of every 1,000 births in 1990 to 17 in 2016. The vast improvement in outcomes for newborns “was made possible by a committed government that took an active role in implementing a national insurance scheme that reached the poorest, most vulnerable mothers.”