With the economic wealth of America, it is difficult to explain the myriad of health problems that some segments of the population suffer from disproportionately. Despite the progress and advancements in health care and treatment, the child death rate in the U.S. remains higher than in many other wealthy nations, especially for African Americans. The mortality rate for children under 5 in the U.S. is almost three times higher than that of Sweden and double that of Finland, Italy, Japan and Norway. In 2005, the infant mortality rate in the United States was 6.87 infant deaths per 1,000 live births.
The racial and ethnic disparities with respect to African Americans, paints an even more horrific picture. In 2005, African Americans had 2.3 times the infant mortality rate of non-Hispanic whites and are almost four times as likely to die from causes related to low birth weight, compared to white infants. Many of these deaths are the result of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
For 2005, sudden infant death syndrome is the third leading cause of infant death and the first leading cause of death among infants ages 1–12 months. African Americans had 1.8 times the sudden infant death syndrome mortality rate as whites.
Although the sad truth is that many of these deaths are preventable, they continue to be the major cause of death for children and youth. African American mothers are 2.5 times as likely as white mothers to start prenatal care in the third trimester, or not receive prenatal care at all. In concert with educational attainment, we see that the infant mortality rate for African American mothers with over 13 years of education is approximately three times that of whites based on the most recent statistics.
The most viable solution to reducing child mortality is education. Helping communities and local authorities provide a quality primary school education can significantly reduce both maternal and infant health problems, particularly education that targets young women and girls. Such efforts drastically and consistently improve their prenatal care and postnatal care skills, thus improving and creating an environment for good health. Such skill sets will directly benefit their families and communities. –torrance stephens, ph.d.
