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| − | '''Infant mortality''' refers to the number of deaths per 1,000 infants (1 year old or below). It is considered one of several indicators of a nations industrial and social development. | + | '''Infant mortality''' refers to the number of deaths per 1,000 infants (1 year old or below) in any given nation. It is considered one of several indicators of a nations industrial and social development. |
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| | + | ==Black/White disparity== |
| | + | In the United States, black babies die about twice as often as white babies, leading to speculation that the cause is due somehow to racism. |
| | + | ===Race of doctor=== |
| | + | A study in 2020 found that [[black babies]] attended by black doctors had better survival outcomes than when attended by white doctors. |
| | + | *Findings suggest that when Black newborns are cared for by Black physicians, the mortality penalty they suffer, as compared with White infants, is halved.<ref>[https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1913405117 Physician–patient racial concordance and disparities in birthing mortality for newborns], PNAS</ref> |
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| | + | This finding got a lot of media attention, and even a Supreme Court justice made a comment. |
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| | + | Other researchers looking at the same data rebutted that conclusion.<ref>[https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2415159121 Do Black Doctors Save More Babies?]</ref> Apparently, the four researchers complaining about supposed 'racism' omitted any measure of [[low birth weight]], even though it's one of the top five causes of [[infant mortality]]. |
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| | ==Global infant mortality rankings== | | ==Global infant mortality rankings== |
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| | All information courtesy of the CIA World Factbook. | | All information courtesy of the CIA World Factbook. |
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| − | Currently, the world's highest infant mortality rates exist in [[Angola]], [[Sierra Leone]], and [[Afghanistan]], while the lowest rate is in the nation of [[Singapore]]. The rate within the [[United States]] currently stands at or around 6.3 deaths per 1,000 births, placing it at 46th on the list, behind [[Guam]] but ahead of the [[Faroe Islands]]. | + | Currently, the world's highest infant mortality rates exist in [[Angola]], [[Sierra Leone]], and [[Afghanistan]], while the lowest rate is in the nation of [[Singapore]]. The rate within the [[United States]] currently stands at or around 6.3 deaths per 1,000 births, placing it at 46th on the list, behind [[Guam]] but ahead of the [[Faroe Islands]]. |
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| | + | The American mortality rate is inflated by three significant factors; firstly the US measures all infants that show any sings of life as live births, versus waiting 5 minutes or 1 hour before considering a birth live, secondly illegal immigrants have much higher rates of infant mortality and their inclusion in the numbers raises them significantly, thirdly religious opposition to [[abortion]] means that more high risk pregnancies are carried to term. Without these compounding factors the US would be near the top of the list. |
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| | + | ==References== |
| | + | {{reflist}} |
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| | + | == See also == |
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| | + | *[[Infanticide]] |
| | + | *[[Atheism and infanticide]] |
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| | + | [[Category:Medicine]] |
| | + | [[Category:Demography]] |