Infant Mortality in the United States.

             Trends in infant mortality are considered to be a .

             barometer of technology and an accurate indicator of the .

             health of a society. Despite technological excellence and .

             numerous social programs offered throughout the country, the .

             infant mortality rate (IMR) in the United States continues to .

             be a national concern. For many, "infant mortality" brings .

             to mind the deprivation and poverty found in third world .

             countries. Yet in the United States, nearly 40,000 children .

             die every year for some of the same reasons that cause .

             infant death in underdeveloped parts of the world .

             (Anderson, 1987).

             Infant mortality is prevalent in this country .

             despite a richly developed and technologically advanced .

             society. According to the Census Bureau, the IMR in the United States has dropped almost 66 percent in the past three decades (Eberstadt, 1991). In 1960, out of every thousand babies .

             born, 26 died within their first year of life. By 1991, that .

             number had dropped to less than nine out of every thousand .

             babies (Eberstadt et al., 1991). According to the US .

             Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the US infant mortality rate in 1987 was higher than in 23 other countries .

             or territories, including most of Western Europe, Hong .

             Kong, and Singapore. The US infant mortality rate was .

             about 20 percent higher than Norway"s, nearly 50 percent .

             higher than in the Netherlands, and 200 percent higher .

             than Japan"s (Eberstadt et al., 1991). The United States .

             has not always fared so poorly in this international ranking. .

             In the early 1950"s it ranked sixth best (Anderson et al., .

             1987). .

             The Select Committee on Hunger held a Congressional .

             hearing on infant mortality in the United States on April .

             29, 1987. Representative Mickey Leland (D., TX), the .

             committee"s chairperson, acknowledged the continued statistical improvements over the prior two decades. But he was very .