We’re Still #1… in Infant Mortality

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Last Mother’s Day, Save the Children released some statistics noting that infant mortality rates in the United States were ridiculously high compared to other “developed” countries, especially if you just look at infant mortality rates among African-Americans or Native Americans.

Now for a long time, many critics of these numbers have suggested that it’s all a mirage, a trick of accounting, supposedly caused by the fact that other countries don’t try to save as many babies as we do and hence count all those extra deaths as stillbirths. But over at Alas, a Blog, Ampersand looks at this claim and finds that it’s quite wrong; the United States really does have a much higher infant mortality rate than other industrialized countries. Whether that’s because of our inequitable health care system or environmental factors or pervasive poverty is up in the air, but there’s no question that the problem exists.

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BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

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