The state of infant health and its relationship to maternal prenatal health in the United States.

The United States ranks behind 19 other industrialized nations in infant mortality. Despite this country's affluence and medical sophistication, Black infants in some U. S. cities have a higher infant mortality rate than infants in some Third World countries. This article examines the impact that maternal prenatal health, teenage pregnancy and strategies to reduce infant mortality have on the general health of infants. A comparison is made between the strategies used by the United States and those used by other industrialized nations who have been more successful in reducing their infant mortality rate.