Understanding SIDS: Prevention Tips And Why Rates Are Higher In The U.S.

Infant Mortality Rates In The U.S.

According to a new study recently conducted by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), infants born in the United States are less likely to survive until their first birthday in comparison to infants born in other developed countries. The average infant mortality rate has steadily decreased in first world countries since 1960, but America has not kept up with this trend, according to TIME Magazine.

Compared to nineteen countries included in the OECD, American babies are three times more likely to die from premature health issues, and 2.3 percent more likely to suffer from SIDS between 2001 and 2010. According to the study, if the infant mortality rate in the U.S. had steadily declined like other OECD countries, there would be 300,000 fewer infant deaths over the course of fifty years.

Reasons For The Infant Mortality Rates

It is speculated that the main reason why the U.S. still has a relatively high statistic for infant mortality compared to other countries is due to economic and health factors, such as higher poverty rates, and a frail social safety net compared to other developed nations. Ashish Thakrar, a medical resident at the John Hopkins Hospital and Health System, and the lead author of the study stated the poorer children are, the worse their health will be.

Thakrar and his team discovered poverty rates among American children were higher compared to nineteen other developed nations since the 1980s, with premature births and low birth weights consistently linked to poverty rates, which affects twenty percent of children in the United States. By examining other studies and his own, Thakrar concluded the gap between the United States and other developed nations was due to risky health behaviors and a fragmented healthcare system.