Infant Mortality Red State vs. Blue States

[stepnw1f]

My bad... As of 2001:



Any current info for red state blue state data?

[NMDemDist2]

1. infant mortality and abortion are two entirely different things n/t

[NMDemDist2]

6. here's a more realistic map

http://www.johnstonsarchive.net/policy/abortion/mapstatesabrate.html

[MissB]

13. I'm not thinking that map is much more accurate.

California residents abort 30 to 50% of their babies? Eh?

If you roam around the guy's site, you'll see he is rather anti-choice.

[hfojvt]

23. some of that is based on providers I am betting

South Dakota being blue is probably because there are no abortion providers in the middle of the state. The big city Sioux Falls shows up as green. It is not that nobody in Pierre or Mitchell ever has an abortion, but if they do so, they are probably driving to Sioux Falls for it, by necessity. Same with California probably, women from Utah are probably going to California for abortions.
California's numbers are surpirising, but the 30% part is believable. I found myself "26% of all pregnancies were aborted in 1985, 25.6% in 1990 and 23.6% in 1995."

[TallahasseeGrannie]

25. 50% of all pregnancies are aborted in CA?

I had no idea. wow.
I am astonished.

[NMDemDist2]

26. no, according to CDC it's 39% n/t

[TallahasseeGrannie]

30. A bit better

but I feel so misinformed because I would have guessed under 10%.

[China_cat]

27. Infant mortality statistics

do NOT include abortions, miscarriages, or stillbirths. Those are in a category all by themselves. Infant mortality refers to deaths of those born alive and dying (usually) before their first birthday.

[PDittie]

2. There are numerous errors in that map

Regarding the colors, or the numbers, or something.

And 2001? There's no more current data than that?

[stepnw1f]

4. I'm Looking for It Now

If there are errors, point them out!

[Laelth]

31. The colors are all messed up.

Ohio and Illinois, for example, are listed as having 7.7 infant mortality rates. According to the key they should be green. Instead, they're red. New York is listed as having a 5.8 infant mortality rate. According to the key it should be yellow. Instead, it's green. And there are a lot more errors like this. The sloppiness makes me distrust the source.

-Laelth

[WildClarySage]

3. Yeah, what the PP said.

Not the same thing at all.

The really sad part is that the US is currently, I believe, #22 of industrialized nations in maternal/infant mortality, in spite of (because of?) the extensive use of interventions in labor and delivery.

[moc]

18. International ranking #27 in 2000. Partly explained by differences

in what is declared a live birth/infant death vs. fetal death, but not entirely.

Another sobering fact is that African American infant mortality is 2+x that of white infant mortality, a gap that is widening not narrowing.

The majority of reductions in infant mortality in the last 2-3 decades has been the result of reductions in birth weight specific mortality; that is, we've gotten better at saving very small babies through the utilization of neonatal intensive care. Unfortunately, we have made zero gains in reducing preterm birth rates. Indeed, preterm birth rates are on the rise, not on the decline. Further reductions in infant mortality necessitate reducing preterm delivery rates.

[TallahasseeGrannie]

29. I teach in a teenage parent program and many of my girls

are 13-15. Even with good prenatal care they are so young and some are very small.

[Warpy]

19. More because of the extensive lack of prenatal care

due to a hoplessly overpriced medical system that effectively shuts out any woman who doesn't have family health insurance before she gets pregnant.

A lot of these women also deliver at home and have little follow up care. The kids get their immunizations only because there are outreach programs and because the schools require them. Some of these kids won't see a dentist until they are grown up and working and have dental insurance.

Maternal and infant mortality statistics are the biggest shame of this country, IMO, supposedly the richest country in the world but on which holds its citizens in such contempt as to deny them appropriate care.

[immoderate]

5. That map makes no sense and is full of contradictions.

--IMM

[stepnw1f]

7. How So? (nt)

[immoderate]

10. For instance...

Washington and Colorado are both at 5.8, yet they are different colors. The colors don't match the legend percentages.

If it was supposed to show which were red or blue states, it doesn't.

The actual numbers for each state seem reasonable to me, but they don't match the colors.

--IMM

[stepnw1f]

12. Holy Shit...

You are right! I can't believe I posted this crap!

[MuseRider]

8. How do you get abortions

from infant mortality rates?

Them apples look like oranges to me. :shrug:

[stepnw1f]

9. Bad Research...

Looking for more accurate data now. If you have some, give it here!

[NMDemDist2]

11. see my post #6 n/t

[MuseRider]

14. I don't have any but I can tell you this.

Infant mortality is, or has been in the past, reported differently in each country so the statistics that compare countries is a bit misleading. I also think I remember that until recently each state reported differently as well. I have nothing to back that up except what my husband said. He was a pathologist and responsible for making many of the reports from his hospital. He is not here or he might be able to tell me where to look. Sorry.

[immoderate]

15. I also wonder...

...how reliable abortion statistics are. Couldn't early abortions be reported as routine procedures? I claim no expertise here.

--IMM

[MuseRider]

17. Abortions are called

all sorts of things in hospitals so yes, I believe you are correct.

Partly because the patient does not want abortion on her record, partly because the hospital can get away with it if it is not called an abortion and if it is early enough everyone can claim surprise! Whoa lookie there, products of conception!

[CTyankee]

28. The Alan Guttmacher Institute has accurate stats

I think it is www.agi.org. It is the research arm of Planned Parenthood and the gold standard on such data for health departments all over the world.

[Warpy]

22. Antiabortion people like to confuse the two.

I mean, that six week fetus that's the size and shape of a cashew nut with gills like a fish is exactly the same as a three month old infant, right?

[Crunchy Frog]

16. How come the colors on alot of the states

don't match the infant mortality rates listed for the states?

I think the map needs a little cleaning up.

[stepnw1f]

20. This Map Is Riddled with Mistakes

the colors do NOT match the data....

[mrcheerful]

21. Besides the fact that

theres no records available on what terminates a pregnancy, natural or abortion. Those are sealed for personal protection and are not open to public view. What pro life does is stand out side of planned parent hood and womens health clinics and count the number of women going into the buildings. They have no ideal if these women are there for anything, they assume that all the women are going in for abortions. The whole pro life movement is just like the repigs they support, based on lies and deceits.

[AnnieBW]

24. If They Cared About Saving Babies

The anti-choicers would worry more about infant mortality rates than abortion rates!