A society' s infant mortality rate is an accepted indicator of that society' s general health status  Even though in some localities in the United States the rate is higher than in many developing countries, in the United States overall the rate has been steadily declining
This decline does not necessarily indicate, however, that babies in the United States are now, on the average, healthier at birth than they were in the past
In eleven states of the United States, the infant mortality rate declined last year.