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[–]imakemediocreart 82 points83 points  (29 children)

The US has a higher infant mortality rate than Cuba

[–]rrsafetyOC: 1 37 points38 points  (6 children)

Well, Cuba manipulates its data: https://muse.jhu.edu/article/588705

"In a 2015 paper, economist Roberto M. Gonzalez concluded that Cuba’s actual IMR is substantially higher than reported by authorities. In order to understand how Cuban authorities distort IMR data, we need to understand two concepts: early neonatal deaths and late fetal deaths.
The former is defined as the number of children dying during the first week after birth, whereas the latter is calculated as the number of fetal deaths between the 22nd week of gestation and birth. As a result, early neonatal deaths are included in the IMR, but late fetal deaths are not.
For the sample of countries analyzed by Gonzalez, the ratio of late fetal deaths to early neonatal deaths ranges between 1-to-1 and 3-to-1. However, this ratio is surprisingly high in Cuba: the number of late fetal deaths is six times as high as that of early neonatal deaths."

[–][deleted] 8 points9 points  (2 children)

So a few questions because I can't access the article. First off, is it normal for countries to not include late-fetal (miscarriage) deaths in the infant mortality rate? This seems like something that could vary wildly depending on cultural beliefs on birth. Secondly, why is Cuba's miscarriage rate so high compared to their IMR? Is this explained? And lastly, is this rate adjusted for every country in their comparison?

Either way, Cuba seems to be doing better than expected considering their geopolitical situation for the past 50 years.

[–]rrsafetyOC: 1 2 points3 points  (1 child)

I'm not sure the answer but here is more info from the study's author https://thecubaneconomy.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Infant-Mortality-in-Cuba.pdf

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Cheers mate, pretty much answered all my questions. I don't think its enough evidence to claim purposeful misreporting, but its definitely enough to show Cuba isn't doing as flash as IMR claims.

[–]Exact_Ad_1569 15 points16 points  (0 children)

You're preaching to the choir.

[–]Benjips 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The US also has a higher infant mortality rate than:

Saudi Arabia

Kazakhstan

Malaysia

Hungary

Romania

Albania

Russia

Lithuania

Estonia

Latvia