From a historical perspective, one of our country’s greatest success stories over the last century has been the steep decline in childhood mortality.
Between 1907 and 2007, the number of children who did not make it to their fifth birthday dropped from about 1,400 out of every 100,000 to less than 30, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. For those ages five to 14, the mortality rate went from 307 to 15.