Editing Infant mortality (section)

===United States===
In the 20th century decreases in infant mortality around the world were linked to several common trends, including social programs, improved sanitation, improved access to healthcare, and improved education, as well as scientific advancements like the discovery of [[penicillin]] and the development of safer [[blood transfusion]]s.<ref>{{Cite report |url=https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/vsus/vsus_1950_1.pdf |title=Vital Statistics of the United States |date=1954 |publisher=United States Printing Office |location=Washington, D.C. |volume=1 |vauthors=Dunn HL}}</ref>

In the United States, improving infant mortality in the early half of the 20th century meant tackling environmental factors. By improving sanitation, especially access to safe drinking water, the United States dramatically decreased infant mortality, which had been a growing concern in the United States since the 1850s.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Save the babies : American public health reform and the prevention of infant mortality, 1850-1929 |vauthors=Meckel RA |date=1998 |publisher=University of Michigan Press |isbn=978-0-472-08556-9 |location=Ann Arbor |oclc=39269607}}</ref> During this time the United States also endeavored to increase education and awareness regarding infant mortality. [[Pasteurization]] of milk also helped the United States combat infant mortality in the early 1900s, as it helped curb disease in infants.<ref>{{Cite report |url=https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm4838a2.htm |title=Achievements in Public Health, 1900 - 1999: Healthier Mothers and Babies |date=1999 |publisher=Centers for Disease Control and Prevention |issue=38 |volume=48 |pages=849–858 |work=Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)}}</ref> These factors, on top of a general increase in the standard of living in urban areas, helped the United States make dramatic improvements to their rates of infant mortality in the early 20th century.

Although the overall infant mortality rate was sharply dropping during this time, within the United States infant mortality varied greatly among racial and socio-economic groups. Between 1915 and 1933 the change in infant mortality per 1,000 births was, for the white population, 98.6 down to 52.8 per 1,000, and for the black population, 181.2 to 94.4 per 1,000 - studies imply that this has a direct correlation with relative economic conditions between these populations.<ref>{{Cite journal |name-list-style=vanc |vauthors=Woodbury RM |date=November 1936 |title=Infant Mortality in the United States |journal=The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science |volume=188 |pages=94–106 |doi=10.1177/000271623618800110 |jstor=1020363 |s2cid=144927978}}</ref> Additionally, infant mortality in [[Southern United States|southern states]] was consistently 2% higher than other regions in the US across a 20-year period starting in 1985. Southern states also tend to perform worse on predictors for higher infant mortality, such as per capita income and poverty rate.<ref>{{Cite journal |vauthors=Menifield CE, Dawson J |year=2008 |title=Infant mortality in southern states: a bureaucratic nightmare |journal=Journal of Health and Human Services Administration |volume=31 |issue=3 |pages=385–402 |doi=10.1177/107937390803100302 |jstor=41288095 |pmid=19209565}}</ref>

In the latter half of the 20th century, a focus on greater access to medical care for women spurred declines in infant mortality in the United States. The implementation of [[Medicaid]], granting wider access to healthcare, contributed to a dramatic decrease in infant mortality, as did greater access to legal abortion and family-planning care, such the [[Intrauterine device|IUD]] and the birth control pill.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Determinants of Health: An Economic Perspective |vauthors=Jacobowitz S, Grossman M |publisher=Columbia University Press |year=2017 |isbn=9780231544511 |veditors=Grossman M |location=New York |pages=305–330 |chapter=Variations in Infant Mortality Rates among Counties of the United States: The Roles of Public Policies and Programs |doi=10.7312/gros17812 |jstor=10.7312/gros17812}}</ref>

By 1984, the United States' decreasing infant mortality slowed. Funding for the federally subsidized Medicaid and Maternal and Infant Care programs was reduced, and availability of prenatal care decreased for low-income parents.<ref>{{Cite journal |vauthors=Miller CA |date=July 1985 |title=Infant mortality in the U.S |journal=Scientific American |volume=253 |issue=1 |pages=31–7 |bibcode=1985SciAm.253a..31M |doi=10.1038/scientificamerican0785-31 |jstor=24967721 |pmid=4001915}}</ref>