Some good news this morning. According to the New York Times, infant mortality rates, particularly for African-Americans, steadily decreased between 2005 and 2011:
The decline came after a period of stalled progress. Although the infant mortality rate dropped significantly over the 20th century, it remained static from 2000 to 2005, according to a report released Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
By 2011, however, the rate had dropped to 6.05 deaths of babies less than 1 year old per 1,000 births, down from 6.87 in 2000. Some of the most striking improvements were in Southern states, which still have higher infant mortality rates than most of the country.
The rate of infant deaths declined the most among black mothers — a drop of 16 percent from 2005 to 2011. Historically, infant mortality rates among black women have been more than twice those among white women.