News
Rodriguez, Bound and Geronimus say infant mortality rates fluctuate by presidential party relative to general downward trend
February 19, 2014
Javier Rodriguez, John Bound, and Arline Geronimus found that infant mortality rates were about 3% higher during years in which a Republican was president compared to a Democrat, 1965-2010. Geronimus says “Infant mortality has been sensitive to all sorts of social contextual factors—from nutritional factors, to access to health services, to stress during pregnancy. One might imagine [these factors] would be affected by political climates, ideologies, or policy.”