The broad array of data we present each year in the "KIDS COUNT Data Book" is intended to illuminate the status of America's children and to assess trends in their well-being. By updating the assessment every year, KIDS COUNT provides ongoing benchmarks that can be used to see how states have advanced or regressed over time. Readers can…

Infants aged younger than 12 months have the highest homicide victimization rate of any single age group in England and Wales. In addition, there are good grounds for believing that the official homicide statistics for this particular age group are an underestimate and subject to distortion. At the same time there is evidence mounting in the…

"Kids Count in Colorado!" is an annual publication of the Colorado Children's Campaign, which provides the best available state- and county-level data to measure and track the education, health and general well-being of the state's children. "Kids Count in Colorado!" informs policy debates and community discussions, serving as…

This is a transcript of a hearing held to examine the extent and causes of hunger in the United States. Witnesses presenting testimony included a Boston pediatrician, two representatives from the Physician Task Force on Hunger in America, the Chairman of the House Select Committee on Hunger, and a professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene…

This report presents data analyzed by county and multicounty planning region which indicate that North Carolina's infant mortality rate has declined by 59 percent since 1940. (In 1940, approximately 58 infants for every 1,000 live births died in North Carolina before their first birthday.) This reduction in infant deaths is comparable to that…

Vital rate estimates for Canadian Registered Indians were presented in this paper. The population under age one in a particular year becomes the population one year old the following year. When this information was examined for 10 years, it was found that there was an increase in survivors from year to year, and that there were inconsistencies…

Reviews a model by Joel Kleinman (proposed in this issue) for comparing State infant mortality rates to long-term trends. Asserts that even States with non-significant test results may have problems needing attention. Argues that the model may not be practically applied by State health officials. (KH)

Examines rural-urban differences in mortality over time in North Carolina. Finds greatest risks of dying in urban areas, but the differential is not as strong as in the past; infant and neonatal mortality reversal and increase in residence differential over time; and residence differentials generally hold for Whites and non-Whites. (NEC)

Life expectancy in the USSR declined from 71 years in 1964 to 70 years in 1970, and to an estimated 68 years in 1983. Decline was due to increase in infant mortality and increase in mortality among middle aged and elderly, and reflects public health problems. (NRB)

Describes an activity for college geography classes in which students study demographic transitions and spatial patterns which provide a clear understanding of what modernization implies in Middle and South America. Students make maps, construct scattergrams, and analyze birth rates, gross national products, and infant mortality rates in 19…

Provides critical commentary on Nicholas Eberstadt's assertion that low-weight births and infant mortality among blacks in Washington, DC, is mainly the result of high rates of illegitimacy and other parental behaviors. Nicholas Eberstadt's response is included. (GLR)

Examined effects of family structure on adequacy of prenatal care and birth outcomes using data for 18,594 women who experienced either live birth, fetal death, or infant death in 1988. Found major differences in effect of family structure across racial/ethnic groups. Effect of family structure was less important for black or white women than for…

Data from interviews with 1,787 women in rural Bangladesh revealed that infant mortality was highly correlated with smaller birth interval and absence of contraceptive use, followed by younger age of mother, prior pregnancy loss, smaller family landholdings, and birth of less preferred sex. Contains 49 references. (Author/SV)

Prenatal care, though providing invaluable health education, including parenting instruction and contraceptive advice as well as medical supervision, is seriously limited for poor women. Suggests ways of surpassing barriers of ignorance, fear, lack of child care and transportation, and lack of skilled medical translators, and calls for more…