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That also doesn't factor in the indirect benefits to the economy, like all the people who can't start a new business (etc.), being stuck in jobs they don't want

That also doesn't factor in the indirect benefits to the economy, like all the people who can't start a new business (etc.), being stuck in jobs they don't want because if they left they'd lose their benefits.

bduerst 7y ago
Or the boon from not having one of the highest infant mortality rates in the developed world.
- burkaman 7y ago
  The US also has the highest rate of maternal mortality in the developed world. https://www.propublica.org/article/lost-mothers-maternal-health-died-childbirth-pregnancy https://www.propublica.org/article/lost-mothers-maternal-hea...
  - sjg007 7y ago
    Yeah that's because a lot of US obgyns don't follow standard checklist protocols. They don't even study it properly. I think the UK has the best one and I know California uses it. Is it a question of treating the birth as a medical event or as something else? I've read about doctors who have given birth at a hospital and died and the death was preventable. Other possible factors could be a lack of prenatal care or (and this is separate) births outside of a hospital / medical setting.
- harambaebae69 7y ago
  I'm not defending the US healthcare system, which is deeply broken, but the particular statistic on infant morality rate can be deceiving. For example: "...very low-birth-weight infants who are at high risk of dying within the first day tend to be counted as live births. In countries where the health care system does not place the same emphasis on neonatal intensive care, the outcomes of such pregnancies are not likely to be recorded as live births. Hence, it appears that the more resources a country's health care system places on saving high-risk newborns, the more likely its registration will report a higher IMR" [0] [0] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4193257/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4193257/

bduerst 7y ago

Or the boon from not having one of the highest infant mortality rates in the developed world.

burkaman 7y ago
The US also has the highest rate of maternal mortality in the developed world. https://www.propublica.org/article/lost-mothers-maternal-health-died-childbirth-pregnancy https://www.propublica.org/article/lost-mothers-maternal-hea...
- sjg007 7y ago
  Yeah that's because a lot of US obgyns don't follow standard checklist protocols. They don't even study it properly. I think the UK has the best one and I know California uses it. Is it a question of treating the birth as a medical event or as something else? I've read about doctors who have given birth at a hospital and died and the death was preventable. Other possible factors could be a lack of prenatal care or (and this is separate) births outside of a hospital / medical setting.
harambaebae69 7y ago
I'm not defending the US healthcare system, which is deeply broken, but the particular statistic on infant morality rate can be deceiving. For example: "...very low-birth-weight infants who are at high risk of dying within the first day tend to be counted as live births. In countries where the health care system does not place the same emphasis on neonatal intensive care, the outcomes of such pregnancies are not likely to be recorded as live births. Hence, it appears that the more resources a country's health care system places on saving high-risk newborns, the more likely its registration will report a higher IMR" [0] [0] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4193257/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4193257/