U.S. Trails Far Behind Europe In Infant Mortality - Shots - Health News Blog : NPR

Preterm births are the biggest cause of the high rate of infant mortality in the US:

By Maggie Mertens
Infant mortality in the U.S. is worse than in 29 other countries, including practically all of Europe, Canada and Australia, says a report just out from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
If there's any good news, it's that the situation in the U.S. hasn't gotten even worse. Based on 2005 data, the U.S. ranked 30th in the world in infant mortality, compared with 29th in 2004 and 23rd in 1990. Back in the good old days of 1960, the nation ranked 12th.
Almost 7 infants die for every 1,000 born in America, a 36 percent rise since 1984. That's far worse than the lowest rates--between 2.1 and 2.8 babies per 1,000, reported by Singapore, Sweden, Hong Kong and Japan.
So why does a prosperous nation like ours come up so short? The high number of American preterm births-- those before 37 weeks--is the biggest reason…

U.S. Trails Far Behind Europe In Infant Mortality - Shots - Health News Blog : NPR