#CarlSagan made this point about our moral failings in the 1980s, when the US ranked 19th for preventing #InfantMortality. We are now in 45th place, and 55th if self-governing territories are counted. American policy maximizes profit for #oligarchs and fucks over the rest of us.

HIV could infect another 1,400 infants every day as a result of foreign aid cuts
https://www.technologyreview.com/2025/03/18/1113288/hiv-could-infect-1400-infants-every-day-due-to-disruptions-in-aid-from-the-us/
#USAID #ForeignAid #HIV #InfantMortality #PublicHealth #DOGE

The concentration of airborne lead is associated with infant mortality through the first year of life. Potentially associated effects include low birth weight, SIDS, and respiratory and nervous system deficits.

Summary: https://www.cmu.edu/news/stories/archives/2025/february/infant-mortality-tied-to-concentration-of-lead-in-air

Original paper: https://www.nber.org/papers/w33447

"Findings from [two] studies indicate that U.S. states with abortion bans experienced higher-than-expected fertility and infant mortality rates, particularly affecting Black infants, younger individuals, those with lower education levels, and Medicaid recipients."

Summary: https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-02-abortion-linked-births-infant-mortality.html

Original papers: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/2830297
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/2830298

The steps an Ohio county took to reduce infant mortality rates. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/the-steps-an-ohio-county-took-to-reduce-infant-mortality-rates It started out by listening to mothers and families. #publichealth #infantmortality

The latest Covid19 update from Prof Christina Pagel.

"The pandemic is as bad as it ever was for babies - in the year to August 2023, 6,300 babies under 1 were admitted to hospital wholly or partly because of Covid.
They are the only age group where admissions have not gone down over time"

#Covid19 #InfantMortality #Babies #Vaccination #Pregnancy

For babies, the Covid pandemic is as bad as it ever was
https://christinapagel.substack.com/p/for-babies-the-covid-pandemic-is?publication_id=1988137&utm_campaign=email-post-title&r=96cfk&utm_medium=email

The astonishing link between #bats and the deaths of human #babies
A frightening wildlife #disease is killing millions of bats in the US. Humans are collateral damage. By compiling and analyzing a huge amount of government data, environmental economist Eyal Frank, discovered that in regions with outbreaks of #whitenosesyndrome, a wildlife disease that kills bats, the rate of #infantmortality increased by nearly 8% relative to areas without the disease. https://www.vox.com/down-to-earth/370002/bats-link-babies-death-study-white-nose-syndrome

If you care about #babies, you must care about #bats

https://christaavampato.com/2024/09/17/if-you-care-about-babies-you-must-care-about-bats/

The journal #Science published a shocking paper this month linking a rise in #human #infantmortality to a declining #bat #population.

“Frank found that in U.S. counties where bat populations have been decimated by white-nose syndrome, human infant mortality rates rose by about 8 percent. That equates to 1,334 infant deaths between 2006 and 2017 that Frank says are attributable to a loss of #bats. #InfantMortality https://mastodon.social/@ScienceScholar/113093239863017654

5-Sep-2024
The collapse of bat populations led to more than a thousand infant deaths
A new Science study shows that when communities experienced the near death of entire insect-eating bat populations, farmers increased their use of #pesticides. This in turn increased the #InfantMortality rate

wild idea: we could just put a cap on pesticide use and enforce it?

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1056333 #science #pollution #PublicHealth #bats #insects

Republicans slay! Literally.

Texas abortion ban linked to sharp rise in infant and newborn deaths
https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/texas-abortion-ban-linked-rise-infant-newborn-deaths-rcna158375

Charles Pierce zeroes in on the new Johns Hopkins study showing that infant mortality rates sharply increased in Texas following its draconian abortion ban. In one year, they rose 8% to 5.75 per 1,000 births, compared to a 2% increase in the rest of the US, with deaths due to birth defects going up by 23%, compared to a decrease of about 3% in the rest of the US.

As Pierce concludes, who says abortion isn't healthcare?

#abortion #healthcare #Texas #InfantMortality

https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/a61410491/infant-mortality-rise-texas-abortion/

Fuck ‘pro-lifers’, forever.

"Between 2021 and 2022, the #InfantMortality rate increased by 8.3% in #Texas compared to a 2.2% increase nationally. The Texas rate reflected a 12.9% increase in the actual number of #deaths of #children before their first birthday.

And while the #death rate of #babies 28 days old or younger fell in other states overall, it increased by 5.8% in Texas."
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/06/25/texas-abortion-ban-infant-mortality/

#Women #AbortionBan #AbortionBans #Abortion ##WomensHealth #Health #Healthcare #USA #News

#CrucifyGregAbbott #Texas #InfantMortality #Abortion #Healthcare #WomensRights #HumanRights

Texas's Grim Infant Mortality Rate Is (More) Proof That Abortion Is Indeed Healthcare
https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/a61410491/infant-mortality-rise-texas-abortion/

"Link found in Texas between rising infant mortality and state’s abortion restrictions"

CNN covers new research from A. Gemmill, C. Margerison, E. Stuart, S. Bell in JAMA that finds that in the wake of SB8, infant mortality in Texas increased by 12.7% more than would have been explained by trend.

https://www.cnn.com/2024/06/24/health/study-infant-mortality-texas-invs/index.html

Infant Mortality Rose 13 Percent in Texas After Abortion Ban, Study Finds
https://truthout.org/articles/infant-mortality-rose-13-percent-in-texas-after-abortion-ban-study-finds/ #US #AbortionBan #InfantMortality

#GOPKillsBest

Infant mortality rate rose 8% in wake of Texas abortion ban, study shows
https://apnews.com/article/abortion-texas-infant-mortality-birth-defects-b055ac35cdbc9ec13f400b4c3e1056e7

How economic inequality harms societies | Richard Wilkinson

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZ7LzE3u7Bw&ab_channel=TED

http://www.ted.com

We feel instinctively that societies with huge income gaps are somehow going wrong. Richard Wilkinson charts the hard data on economic inequality, and shows what gets worse when rich and poor are too far apart: real effects on health, lifespan, even such basic values as trust.