Infant mortality rate rises in USA, first time in 45 years

Main Category: Fertility
Article Date: 11 Feb 2004 - 0:00 PDT

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For the first time in more than forty years infant mortality in the USA has gone up. One of the main reasons for this is that older women are putting off having babies until they are older. Many are having multiple births as a result of fertility treatment (according to the government).

In 2002, life expectancy in the USA rose to 77.4 (according to the CDC). The year before it was 77.2 .

In 2001 infant mortality was 6.8 deaths per thousand. A year later (2002) it rose to 7 per thousand.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) were surprised at the results. They last time infant mortality in the USA went up was in 1958.

Joyce Martin, a leading statistician at the CDC said 'We were surprised because it has been declining fairly steadily for more than four decades, you're always concerned when an important indicator in public health increases.'

This rise could be a one off. It looks as though 2003 will continue to see a fall (says CDC).

Martin said that as women delay motherhood we could be seeing a rise in the infant mortality rate.

If a women put off having a baby until they are 30 or 40 (or more) there will be more babies with birth defects and complications.

More older women use fertility drugs to get pregnant (more than younger women). This leads to more multiple births. Multiple births carry a higher risk of complications and low birthweight.

In the year 2002 more than half of multiple births were born preterm or the baby was underweight.

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