Danny Davis: “Mr. Speaker, the term ``infant mortality rate'' is given to the number of infant deaths during the first 12 months of…”

“Mr. Speaker, the term ``infant mortality rate'' is given to the number of infant deaths during the first 12 months of life for every 100,000 births. In the United States, infant mortality increased in 2002 for the first time in more than four decades. The rate reached seven deaths per 1,000 live births, which was the first increase since 1958. American babies are three times more likely to die during their first month of life than children born in Japan, and newborn mortality is 2 rac{1}{2} times higher in the United States than in Finland, Iceland, or Norway. Only Latvia, with six deaths per 1,000 live births, has a higher death rate for newborns than the United States, and Latvia is near the bottom of the list of industrialized nations, tied with Hungary, Malta, Poland, and Slovakia with five deaths per 1,000 births. Newborn death rates are higher among American minorities and disadvantaged groups. For African Americans, the mortality rate is nearly double that of the United States as a whole, with 9.3 deaths per 1,000 births. The primary causes of infant mortality are premature birth and low birth weight. All children, regardless of where they are born and regardless of their race or ethnic group, deserve a healthy start in life.”