Health

The US Infant Mortality Rate Is Embarrassing, But It's Getting Better

More than 50 countries have a better infant survival rate than the U.S.

The US Infant Mortality Rate Is Embarrassing, But It's Getting Better
Getty Images / Christopher Furlong
Article by Kate Grumke
SMS
December 9, 2015

The U.S. infant mortality rate has reached a historic low, according to a new report from the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention.

The infant death rate is down 2.3 percent. It is now 582.1 infant deaths per 100,000 live births, which puts our infant mortality rate at .58 percent.

While about half of a percent seems low, compared to other developed nations, the U.S. infant mortality rate is actually pretty high.

According to the most recent numbers from the CIA, the U.S. is behind more than 50 other countries when it comes to infant mortality rates.

Even Cuba's rate was lower, and the U.S. infant mortality rate is almost double that of France, Italy and Spain.

According to the CDC, the leading causes of death were the same from the year before. The most common causes were birth defects, low birth weight, maternal complications and sudden infant death syndrome.

Even though the U.S. rate is high, the CDC says it's decreasing. That's good because infant mortality rate is an indicator of development, and ours has been called a "national embarrassment."

This video includes images from Getty Images, Jason Pratt / CC BY 2.0 and Vinoth Chandar / CC BY 2.0.