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Infant mortality is a problem of major concern to the industrialized world, and it continues to be an important marker for assessing the health and welfare of countries. Despite the fact that the United States spends 15% of its gross national product on health care, it ranks 21st in the world in its infant mortality rate, below countries that spend much less.
The causes of our high infant mortality rate are complex and multifaceted, and we will not attempt in Master Class to address them all. We will, however, address one component: the rising rate of multiple gestations.
Between 1996 and 2002, multiple births in the United States increased more than 22%, from 2.7% to 3.3% of all live births. In 2002, the preterm birth rate among multiple deliveries was approximately 60%, six times higher than the preterm birth rate among singleton births, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. In its preliminary report on births for 2004, the NCHS said that increases in multiple births "have strongly influenced recent upswings" in preterm and low-birth-weight births.
Assisted reproduction plays a role. There is evidence that the percentage of higher-order ...
Source: HighBeam Research, Multiples and mortality.(MASTER CLASS)