Infant Mortality on Rise

[Guest guest]

I found this interesting since I was (AM) an older mother who

resorted to fertility drugs and assisted reproductive technology to

have my son. This is from a reputable source as well.

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Infant Mortality Up First Time in Decades

By DANIEL YEE, Associated Press Writer

ATLANTA - U.S. infant mortality has climbed for the first time in

more than four decades, mainly because of complications associated

with older women putting off motherhood and then having multiple

babies via fertility drugs, the government said Wednesday.

At the same time, U.S. life expectancy reached an all-time high of

77.4 years in 2002, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

(news - web sites) said. Life expectancy in 2001 was 77.2 years.

The nation's infant mortality rate climbed from 6.8 deaths per 1,000

live births in 2001 to 7.0 deaths per 1,000 in 2002. CDC analysts had

expected another year of decline — the last time the rate rose was in

1958.

" We were surprised because it has been declining fairly steadily for

more than four decades, " said Joyce , lead statistician for the

CDC. " You're always concerned when an important indicator in public

health increases. "

The 2002 rise may be a one-time blip, since the U.S. rate for 2003 is

expected to drop, a preliminary review by the CDC indicates.

The rise in infant mortality may reflect the long trend among

American women toward delaying motherhood, said.

Women who put off motherhood until their 30s or 40s are more likely

to have babies with birth defects or other potentially deadly

complications.

Also, older women are more likely to use fertility drugs to get

pregnant, and such drugs often lead to twins, triplets and other

multiple births. Multiple births carry a higher risk of premature

labor and low birthweight — conditions that can endanger babies'

lives.

The number of multiple births and other high-risk pregnancies in the

United States steadily increased in the past decade as more women

have put off having their first child. Recent birth rates for women

ages 35 to 44 were the highest levels for those age groups in three

decades, the CDC reported in September.

More than half of the multiple births in 2002 were born preterm or

had low birthweight, the CDC said. The rate of triplets and larger

multiple births was 184 births per 100,000 deliveries in 2002.

Multiple births climbed more than 400 percent between 1980 and 1998

because of fertility treatments by older women, the CDC previously

reported.

Despite the infant mortality increase, U.S. life expectancy continues

to rise because of steady decreases in deaths from heart disease,

stroke and cancer. " When you see decreases in those three causes, you

usually are going to see increases in life expectancy, " said Ken

Kochanek, CDC statistician.

Homicides decreased 17 percent in 2002, but that was largely because

of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks the year before. When only non-

terrorism homicides were counted, the U.S. rate dropped 3.3 percent

the CDC said.

CDC data: www.cdc.gov/nchs