A recent report released by CDC says that the main reason of the increasing rate of infant mortality in America is the high percentage of preterm babies. CDC, with the help of data collected in 2005, has confirmed that 1 out of every 8 American births was preterm, compared to the same in Ireland and Finland which stood at 1 in 18 births.

Experts are of the option that the most prominent factors contributing to premature births are insufficient access to prenatal care, obesity of the pregnant mother, smoking during pregnancy, too- early cesarean sections and fertility treatments, among others.

Lead author of the CDC report, Marian MacDorman has said that premature babies who are born before 37 weeks are much more fragile, their lungs are under-developed and, thus they have very slim chances of survival. "Infant mortality in the U. S. is a major public health problem, and it’s not improving", she said.

According to figures made public, US currently ranks 30th in the world when it comes to the rate of infant mortalities. The country has a rate which is more than double of what has been recorded in Sweden, Japan, Finland, Norway and the Czech Republic. Authorities are concerned over the findings and are now looking at ways to combat the increasing rate of infant mortalities across the country.