4 ms·

> but also in child mortality Different countries have different definitions of infant mortality. When is it categorized as a miscarriage and when an infant de

> but also in child mortality Different countries have different definitions of infant mortality. When is it categorized as a miscarriage and when an infant death? The US tries very hard to save premature babies, and counts the failures as infant death rather than miscarriages.

jillesvangurp 8y ago
I think you'll find that the US is not alone in trying that and that other countries simply don't limit that kind of efforts to the well insured elite. When visiting a hospital is a potentially bankrupting event, a lot of young uninsured mothers might end up not going to a hospital or going too late. Also, prenatal checks are not optional. The attitude towards abortion combined with religious conservatism also pushes a lot of young women to look for solutions outside the traditional healthcare system; which has all sorts of risks for the mother. I find it ironic that the net result of pro-life policies is increased mortality rates for babies and mothers.
- skookumchuck 8y ago
  > I think you'll find that the US is not alone in trying that It's all over the map, there are even societies where the baby isn't considered a person until some time after birth. It's certainly enough to question the relevance of the statistics.
  - RobertoG 8y ago
    "it's all over the map, there are even societies where the baby isn't considered a person until some time after birth." What societies? Some of the countries in the graph?
  - iagovar 8y ago
    In Europe? Who?
    - vonmoltke 8y ago
      Why are you restricting this to Europe?
- iguy 8y ago
  But even if they all tried equally hard, it's possible that there could be recording differences which throw the stats off. When exactly is an event counted as a miscarriage vs. an infant death, that's a paperwork question not a medical one. At least I think that's what GP was saying. I don't actually know what rules are applied. It would be interesting to see a graph of miscarriages month-by-month as well as deaths month-by-month.
- skookumchuck 8y ago
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infant_mortality#Differences_in_measurement https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infant_mortality#Differences_i...
petschge 8y ago
If you look at doi 10.1257/pol.20140224 you can see that the main difference in mortality is not at day one but late(er) in the first year. So likely the main difference is not due to the distinction between miscarriage and infant death. This is also matched by the fact that children born to middle class parents do statistically as well as kids born to European parents. It is children of poor parents that have the inflated mortality.

jillesvangurp 8y ago

I think you'll find that the US is not alone in trying that and that other countries simply don't limit that kind of efforts to the well insured elite. When visiting a hospital is a potentially bankrupting event, a lot of young uninsured mothers might end up not going to a hospital or going too late. Also, prenatal checks are not optional. The attitude towards abortion combined with religious conservatism also pushes a lot of young women to look for solutions outside the traditional healthcare system; which has all sorts of risks for the mother. I find it ironic that the net result of pro-life policies is increased mortality rates for babies and mothers.

skookumchuck 8y ago
> I think you'll find that the US is not alone in trying that It's all over the map, there are even societies where the baby isn't considered a person until some time after birth. It's certainly enough to question the relevance of the statistics.
- RobertoG 8y ago
  "it's all over the map, there are even societies where the baby isn't considered a person until some time after birth." What societies? Some of the countries in the graph?
- iagovar 8y ago
  In Europe? Who?
  - vonmoltke 8y ago
    Why are you restricting this to Europe?
iguy 8y ago
But even if they all tried equally hard, it's possible that there could be recording differences which throw the stats off. When exactly is an event counted as a miscarriage vs. an infant death, that's a paperwork question not a medical one. At least I think that's what GP was saying. I don't actually know what rules are applied. It would be interesting to see a graph of miscarriages month-by-month as well as deaths month-by-month.
skookumchuck 8y ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infant_mortality#Differences_in_measurement https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infant_mortality#Differences_i...

petschge 8y ago

If you look at doi 10.1257/pol.20140224 you can see that the main difference in mortality is not at day one but late(er) in the first year. So likely the main difference is not due to the distinction between miscarriage and infant death. This is also matched by the fact that children born to middle class parents do statistically as well as kids born to European parents. It is children of poor parents that have the inflated mortality.