As much as I want single payer healthcare, I'm not going to use skewed statistics to make the case.
For starters, we attempt to save many, many babies (preemies) that other countries do not save. When those babies die days, weeks, or months later, they are included in the infant mortality rate. In some countries, babies who die within the first couple of days are not considered living.
Here's some articles that I quickly found:
http://www.slate.com/id/2161899/http://mjperry.blogspot.com/2008/08/infant-mortality-measurements-not.html"Low birth weight infants are not counted against the “live birth” statistics for many countries reporting low infant mortality rates.
According to the way statistics are calculated in Canada, Germany, and Austria, a premature baby weighing less than 500 kg is not considered a living child."
...
"Norway boasts one of the lowest infant mortality rates in the world. But when the main determinant of mortality — weight at birth — is factored in, Norway has no better survival rates than the United States."
Just an fyi: My best friend is a neonatal nurse, and routinely 2/3's of the babies are "non-paying." They get the same level of care that other babies do, although I would imagine that their mothers' lack of prenatal care can significantly affect the pregnancy and premature birth.
Also, many big city counties have some of the highest infant mortality rates in the country, and it's usually assumed that it's because of poverty and lack of health care. In fact, the larger cities tend to have large neonatal units where - unfortunately - many babies wlll die due to their prematurity. Very small and sick babies are usually transferred to the units.
What is disgusting is the disparity between the races. Black babies have about twice the chance of dying during their first year.