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A new report from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation says Utah has the nation's second lowest infant mortality rate.
Utah is second only to Maine for infant deaths, with an overall average of about 5.1 deaths for every 1,000 babies born.
"Utah, by almost any measure, is a pretty great place for kids, and the fact that we have such a low infant mortality rate is a good thing," Karen Crompton, executive director with Voices for Utah Children, said.
But some of the numbers are troubling to Crompton. When the mother hasn't finished high school the mortality rate jumps to nearly eight deaths per 1,000.
Crompton says education is part of it, but the underlying issue is poverty, which means Utah has some work to do to make sure all kids get a fair chance at life.
Crompton says we need to start earlier in life to give the disadvantaged a fair shake. "By the time a child is three years old, 80 percent of its brain has been formed. And yet from birth to three, we invest almost nothing as a state or a country in those children," she said.
Crompton also said, "It goes back to other studies that have been done that show poverty is the greatest negative predictor of outcomes for kids."
Crompton says poverty is not something that can be fixed overnight. But she says there are some things that will help in the short term, starting from early childhood with educational programs and children's health insurance right on up to providing resources to young mothers.
E-mail: bbruce@ksl.com
