Infant Mortality: The Real Measure of Health

Children's health issues image.

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:

Country Deaths/1000 Births
Singapore 2.10
Australia 4.69
Canada 4.75
United Kingdom 5.16
New Zealand 5.85
United States 6.50

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.

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?

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 Dr. Lewis Asks some important questions of interest to Pasadena residents - Chiropractor Pasadena Dr. Lewis Asks...

Can someone who has had back surgery receive chiropractic care?
Yes. Rest assured that we will avoid the surgically modified areas of your spine. However, what we find is that surgical interventions will often produce spinal instability above or below the involved level. This is will be the focus of your chiropractic care.
What is the purpose of pain?
Pain prompts many Pasadena folks to begin chiropractic care. But pain isn't the problem! Pain is just how your body alerts you that a limit has been reached (or exceeded), that something isn't working right and that some type of change is needed. As a chiropractor, my job is finding the underlying cause and recommending the changes needed to bring your body back into balance.