A new report shows that the United States has the highest first-day infant death rate out of all the industrialized countries in the world. This means that the United States is the worst industrialized country for pregnant mothers. About 11,300 newborns die within 24 hours of their birth ever year in the United States. This is 50% more first-day deaths than in all other industrialized countries combined.
These shocking results were listed in the State of the World's Mothers report. This report was put together by a non-profit organization called Save the Children and looked at 168 countries. The point of the study was to learn the best places for a mother. Save the Children looked at child mortality, maternal mortality, and educational achievement. It also evaluated the economic status of the women in each country and the political representation of women in the countries.
Sadly, the statistics show that about 800 women die every day due to pregnancy or childbirth. 8,000 newborns die in their first month of life. While some of these deaths are due to genetic deficiencies and others are due to the baby's condition at birth, others are preventable. Newborn deaths make up 43% of all deaths in children under five, and 60% of all infant deaths occur within the crucial first month of life.
While the United States had the highest infant mortality rate, the countries that had the lowest infant mortality rate include Finland, Sweden, Iceland, the Netherlands and Norway. The five worst places to be a pregnant mother on the Save the Children report are Mali, Somalia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Niger, and Sierra Leone.
These are all non-industrialized locations. The U.S. only ranked number 30 on the list of best places to be mother. This is five spots further from spot number one than last year. The Save the Children 2012 report claimed that the United States was the 25th best place to have a child. The Save the Children CEO says that she was shocked that the U.S. did so poorly on the report.
Overall, about 1 million babies die during their first day of life even though about 75% of all infant deaths could be prevented through low-cost techniques. Some of these infant deaths are due to a doctor's negligence or a nurse's error at the hospital. Save the Children believes that the United States' greatest problem regarding children is the high rate of premature births. Save the Children suggests that if women got better or more frequent medical care it could reduce this problem.
In addition to this, doctors and nurses need to be well-trained and extremely careful when it comes to caring for infants. A clumsy doctor or a careless nurse can cause a birth injury. Many babies have suffered serious injuries or long-term mental impairment as a result of a doctor's mistake. Birth injuries include a misuse of the forceps, a failure to perform a C-section when necessary, misuse of the vacuum during the birth, overmedication of the mother during birth, overmedication of the infant after birth, or another foolish action.
Babies who survive their traumatic birth may still suffer from cerebral palsy, brain injuries, facial paralysis, cephalohematoma, brachial palsy, subconjunctivital hemorrhages, and more. If you want more information about birth injuries or wrongful death in birth injury cases, then you will want to talk to a medical malpractice lawyer near you. An aggressive and convincing attorney can come alongside you to help you get the finances that you deserve after a tragic birth accident. Learn more about birth injuries by searching for an attorney near you on this directory!