the united states is second from last in the list of infant mortality rates in industrialized nations. who do we beat? latvia.

who are first and second? japan, and the czech republic.

rosenleaf gave birth to her son in the czech republic, and lived there for several years either side of it. here is a taste of what she has to say about it.

Livingston, I Presume: On giving birth in Prague:

When people defend our system, they often say that people from all over the world fly in to see our doctors and visit our healthcare centers, and they're right. Rich people will always get great care in the United States. If you have money, there is no better place to be sick. But if you don't have money and/or you don't have insurance, it's surely one of the industrialized world's worst places to be ill. Financial ruin is sitting in the background of nearly every decision an American makes about healthcare. If you don't think that causes stress, then you've probably never experienced it.

(emphasis mine)

i'm not rich enough to not have to worry about it. i get pretty good insurance through my job, but what happens if i lose it? i just got divorced; it used to be that i could count on being covered by the ex's insurance if i lost mine. do i worry about it? hell, yeah.