The Preemie Problem

Michael Moore drags out the left’s favorite sawhorse—that the United States ranks 37th in quality of healthcare as tabulated by the UN.  One of the reasons for this, which will undoubtedly be pointed out by Mikey, is our awful infant mortality rate, which is tied with Malta and Slovenia.  This, clearly, is an indictment of our evil for-profit capitalist healthcare system right?  That’s the point Mike will make.  So, let’s get to the truth, so that you can explain Mike’s bullshit to all your left-wing friends after they see the movie.  Let’s look at this article in that notorious right-wing Bush-worshipping magazine Slate.  (All emphasis added.)

Infant deaths in poor nations are roughly six times more common than in developed areas and result mainly from easily treated infections like diarrhea in the first few months. By contrast, the majority of deaths in developed countries result from extreme prematurity or birth defects that kill a newborn in the first few days or weeks of life. According to a 2002 analysis by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, at least a third of all infant mortality in the United States arises from complications of prematurity; other studies assert the figure is closer to half. Thus—at the risk of oversimplifying—infant mortality in the United States principally is a problem of premature birth, which today complicates just over one in 10 pregnancies.

Hear that?  The problem isn’t that the babies which are being born are dying at a higher rate, it’s that we give birth to more premature babies, and therein lies the problem.

To reduce infant mortality, then, we need to prevent premature births, and if that fails, improve care of premature babies once born. (Prematurity is also linked to other problems; for example, it’s the leading cause of mental retardation and cerebral palsy in children.) But modern medicine isn’t good at preventing prematurity—just the opposite. Better and more affordable medical care actually has worsened the rate of prematurity, and likely the rate of infant mortality, by making fertility treatment widespread. According to a 2006 Institute of Medicine report, the numbers of women using assistive reproductive technology doubled from 1996 to 2002. At least half of their pregnancies culminated in multiple births (twins or more), which are at high risk of premature delivery.

Get that, Mikey?  It is because of our wealth and affluence that women are able to wait until their careers are established to start a family.  This increases the chances that the baby will be born prematurely.  Modern medical science, as the article says, just “isn’t good at preventing prematurity.”

I could quote the entire article, but you should read it yourself.  The problem isn’t that we don’t spend enough money on premature babies, it’s that we spend too much.