Alabama Has Second-Highest Infant Mortality Rate in U.S.

 ========= Old Image Removed =========Array
(
    [_wp_attached_file] => Array
        (
            [0] => 2018/01/Infant_Mortality_Map_2.png
        )

    [_wp_attachment_metadata] => Array
        (
            [0] => a:5:{s:5:"width";i:460;s:6:"height";i:277;s:4:"file";s:34:"2018/01/Infant_Mortality_Map_2.png";s:5:"sizes";a:5:{s:6:"medium";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:34:"Infant_Mortality_Map_2-336x202.png";s:5:"width";i:336;s:6:"height";i:202;s:9:"mime-type";s:9:"image/png";}s:9:"thumbnail";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:34:"Infant_Mortality_Map_2-140x140.png";s:5:"width";i:140;s:6:"height";i:140;s:9:"mime-type";s:9:"image/png";}s:9:"wbhm-icon";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:32:"Infant_Mortality_Map_2-80x80.png";s:5:"width";i:80;s:6:"height";i:80;s:9:"mime-type";s:9:"image/png";}s:22:"wbhm-featured-carousel";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:34:"Infant_Mortality_Map_2-440x265.png";s:5:"width";i:440;s:6:"height";i:265;s:9:"mime-type";s:9:"image/png";}s:14:"post-thumbnail";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:34:"Infant_Mortality_Map_2-125x125.png";s:5:"width";i:125;s:6:"height";i:125;s:9:"mime-type";s:9:"image/png";}}s:10:"image_meta";a:12:{s:8:"aperture";s:1:"0";s:6:"credit";s:0:"";s:6:"camera";s:0:"";s:7:"caption";s:0:"";s:17:"created_timestamp";s:1:"0";s:9:"copyright";s:0:"";s:12:"focal_length";s:1:"0";s:3:"iso";s:1:"0";s:13:"shutter_speed";s:1:"0";s:5:"title";s:0:"";s:11:"orientation";s:1:"0";s:8:"keywords";a:0:{}}}
        )

)
1651779819 
1515049071

Alabama does not fare well on a basic measure of pubic health, according to a report released Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. After Mississippi, it had the highest rate of infant mortality in the nation.

The CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics compared birth and death certificates for infants under age one. From 2013 to 2015, Alabama had the second-highest infant mortality rate at 8.52 deaths per thousand live births.

Mississippi had the highest mortality rate in the nation, with 9.08 deaths per thousand live births.

The national infant mortality rate was 5.89. The state with the lowest rate was Massachusetts at 4.28. According to the report, every state in the South had a rate significantly higher than the national average. (State-by-state data is here.)

Overall, black women suffered the highest infant mortality rates. For black mothers in Alabama, the rate was 13.4 deaths per thousand live births. According to the CIA World Factbook, that’s higher than Oman or Venezuela.

 

A Maryland town backed Trump’s cost-cutting pledge. Now it’s a target

Emmitsburg is home to the National Fire Academy, effectively the war college for U.S. firefighters. The Trump administration's decision to halt classes has some townspeople pondering their votes.

Trump says he will reopen Alcatraz for the ‘most ruthless and violent’ prisoners

The prison on a forbidding island off San Francisco was operated at a prohibitive cost. Now, President Trump says it's time to substantially enlarge and rebuild Alcatraz as a federal penitentiary.

In ‘Sinners,’ the blues is a portal between this world and the next

Ryan Coogler's period thriller knows "the devil's music" isn't the opposite of the holy word, but its twin.

International students in Alabama fearful after researcher with no political ties is detained

Alireza Doroudi has been detained in an immigration facility in Louisiana for nearly six weeks. Doroudi’s detention has instilled fear in the small Iranian community in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, where he and his fiancee are doctoral students

Why midwives are worried

In Chad, they're a key force in addressing the country's high rate of maternal mortality. But U.S. aid cuts have affected their salaries.

Times have changed — but the Rockettes keep kicking

Nearly 1,000 women from around the country flew to New York City to audition for the dance troupe on its 100th anniversary. What's helped it last so long?

More Front Page Coverage