Report on infant mortality shows
Racism and poverty killing more babies
By Heather Cottin
For the first time in over 40 years, the
overall infant mortality rate in the U.S. has increased,
according to a report just released by the federal government's
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Infant mortality is seen as a basic measure of a society's
well-being. The latest information--which compares 2002 to the
previous year--shows that the risk of death before an infant's
first birthday increased from 6.8 to 7 per 1,000 live births.
This seemingly small rise is statistically very significant and
surprised health officials. It means babies born in this
wealthy country are more at risk than in many underdeveloped
nations.
But the overall figures don't tell the whole story. While
the rate increased for both African American and white infants,
the gap between the two is wide and growing. Among whites, the
mortality rate climbed from 5.7 to 5.9 deaths per 1,000 births.
The rate among Black babies, however, went from a shocking 14
to 14.3 deaths during the same period.
The Black infant mortality rate is at a crisis level that
reflects crushing conditions of racism and poverty in the
United States. Some call it "genocide."
Health officials said the overall increase may have
reflected improvements in technology that allow more pre mature
babies to be born, as well as women waiting until they are
older before having their first child. But this does not
explain the large gap between Black and white rates.
The CDC report does not address the problems of food
insecurity, homelessness and the decline of social services
that affect the poor.
However, Dr. Dennis Andrulis of Downstate Medical Center on
Long Island said the crisis could be tied to an economic
downturn that "took root in 2000 or 2001 but only manifested
itself in 2002. ... People in the cities with limited access to
health care start facing higher rates of unemployment and
poverty, they worry more about putting food on the table and
less about going to see the doctor." (New York Times, Feb.
12)
In July 2002, the CDC reported increases of low and very low
birthweight among Black infants.
The 2000 Census showed that the states with the highest
rates of Black infant mortality were Iowa with 20.6, Arizona
with 19.1 and Washington, D.C., with 19.0 per 1,000 live
births.
The gap extends to mothers, too. The Alan Guttmacher
Institute has noted that Black women are almost four times as
likely as white women to die from pregnancy-related causes.
(August 2003)
Ellen Catalinotto, a nurse-midwife at New York's Columbia
Presbyterian Hospital, told WW that "The maternal mortality
rate among Black women is three times that of whites. And, even
in the absence of identifiable diseases, Black women have
higher incidences of low birthweights among their babies. There
are so many uninsured and underinsured people in the United
States," she continued, "women don't go for prenatal care. The
U.S. lags behind 26 other countries in infant mortality. It has
the worst record of all the industrialized countries."
Catalinotto noted that doctors are performing more Caesarian
sections, which now account for 25 percent of births in the
U.S. The risk of death for mothers during a C-section is three
times higher than for normal births.
Cuba, where the infant mortality rate has been reduced to
6.2, lower than the U.S., has been sending doctors and medical
assistance to Haiti, which has the highest infant mortality
rate in the Western hemisphere. Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe
Perez Roque recently reported that in Haiti, "In the areas
covered by the Cuban doctors, the infant mortality rate in
children under 1 year of age has dropped from 80 to 28 per
1,000 live births--and in children under 5 years of age, the
rate has fallen from 159 to 39 per 1,000 live births. The
maternal mortality rate dropped from 523 deaths to 259 per
100,000 live births."
Socialist Cuba's extraordinary advances in cutting infant
mortality rates, and its commitment to improving medical
services in the Third World, stand in contrast to the
indifference of the U.S. capitalist government and medical
establishment to the deaths of over 28,000 babies in the United
States each year, many of whom are Black and poor.
"Infant and maternal mortality is related to the standard of
living and a system of support. There are no rights for
pregnant women in the United States. No maternal leave,
nutrition, health care. There is not a single law that protects
them," Catalinotto said.
"Infant mortality is a measure of society's commitment to
women and children, in terms of access to health care and
protection of the mother and child."
The savagery of U.S. capitalism and racism offer no such
protection for women and children.
Reprinted from the Feb. 26, 2004, issue of
Workers World newspaper
This article is copyright under a Creative
Commons License.
Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011
Email: ww@workers.org
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