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Infant Mortality: The Real Measure of Health

Those who attend to such matters measure the health of populations based upon how many children survive the process of being born and living the first year of their life. It's called the infant mortality rate. With all the so-called high-tech health care we enjoy, you'd think we’d be among the healthiest nation in the world.

Think again.

In 2005, the most current year for which figures are available, suggests that technology is not necessarily the answer. In a survey of 33 countries, many of the most highly developed western nations find themselves in the company of Poland, Latvia, Hungary and the little country of Malta. Using this metric, Singapore is the healthiest nation on the planet:

Japan, Sweden and Iceland are also among the healthiest nations. Mary Beth Powers, a health adviser for Save the Children, an international child development organization that analyzed health data from countries and agencies worldwide stated that, “We are among the wealthiest in the world, but there are still pockets of our population who are not getting the health care they need.”

And all that new technology we use could actually be hurting us – for example, Caesarian sections require pulling and twisting babies, forceps place pressure on an infant’s brain. Then there’s the unequal treatment in care among the different income levels and ethnic groups.

How can you and I help reduce the infant mortality rate? By advising pregnant mothers we know about issues that affect infant mortality rates, such as maternal smoking, drug and alcohol abuse, poor nutrition, stress, insufficient prenatal care, chronic illness or other similar problems.

And getting adjusted! Chiropractic adjustments during pregnancy give mom and her developing baby the optimal nervous system for healthy growth and development. Do you know someone who should be seeing us?