1 President, American Academy of Pediatrics
In recent years, there has been a surge of renewed interest on the part of numerous groups in the subject of infant mortality, a source of continued concern to pediatricians for many years. The constancy of concern of the American Academy of Pediatrics about infant mortality is evident in the fact that Pediatrics has published a summary of national statistics on the subject annually since 1950. That yearly analysis by Dr Myron Wegman appears in this issue.1
In addition, a statement of the Academy's current position on infant mortality also appears in this issue.2 As this position paper makes clear, there are several reasons for a renewed concern about infant mortality.