More babies die on their first day of life in the US than in any other industrialized country

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http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/13/130508-united-states-babies-newborn-mothers-infant-mortality-save-the-children/


Young parents hold their stillborn daughter in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Ryan and Sandra Doherty cuddle the blanket that their daughter was placed in after a stillborn delivery.
Alexis Manning

National Geographic News

Published May 8, 2013

The United States has the highest rate of first-day deaths in babies than any other industrialized nation, according to a report released this week by the humanitarian group Save the Children. Throughout the world, the first day of life is the most hazardous time for a baby; just over one million children die each year within 24 hours of being born.

Save the Children's annual "State of the World's Mothers" report ranks 176 countries on levels of well-being among children and mothers. This year's edition puts a special emphasis on newborn health, featuring its first-ever Birth Day Risk Index. The index ranks countries from the safest to the most dangerous for a baby to be born in.

In the United States, babies are 50 percent more likely to die on the same day they were born than in all of the other industrialized countries combined, according to the report. Each year, nearly 11,300 babies die on the day they were born in the United States, making American babies twice as likely to die in their first 24 hours as European Union babies.

Why the Gap?

The findings don't surprise Save the Children president and CEO Carolyn Miles, who said in an e-mail interview that the U.S. consistently has a preterm birth rate far above those of other industrialized countries. Its high rate of premature births and its large population may partially explain why the U.S. tops other industrialized nations in first-day deaths for babies. Factors like poverty, stress, and teenage pregnancy also play a role, Miles said. Babies born to the poorest mothers are 40 percent more likely to die than babies born to wealthy mothers, said Mile

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