A Child Is Born
Newborn nursing in the NICU, Author Czechpeas (CC BY-SA 4.0 International)
“For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isa. 9: 6).
According to the Centers for Disease Control, 8.28% of American infants (some 240,000) are born with low birthweight [1]. Over 194,000 are born to teen mothers as young as 15 [2].
More than 5 in every 1000 will die in infancy – a rate 71% higher than that of other developed nations [3][4]. Another 862,000 will be aborted before birth [5].
Approximately 40% of American children are born out of wedlock [6]. 19.7 million (1 in 4) live without a father in the home [7].
16% of American children live in poverty – 8.8% of white children, 23.7% of Hispanic children, and 30.1% of black children [8].
At least 678,000 American children will be neglected or abused in the coming year [9]. Another 13,000 can be expected to die of gun violence (some 700 before the age of 11) [10].
Do we really know the Prince of Peace, if we treat the children entrusted to our care this way?
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[1] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Birthweight and Gestation”, https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/birthweight.htm.
[2] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “About Teen Pregnancy”, https://www.cdc.gov/teenpregnancy/about/index.htm.
[3] Macrotrends, “US Infant Mortality Rate 1950-2020”, https://www.macrotrends.net/countries/USA/united-states/infant-mortality-rate.
[4] Health System Tracker, “What do we know about infant mortality in the US and comparable countries?”, https://www.healthsystemtracker.org/chart-collection/infant-mortality-u-s-compare-countries/.
[5] Guttmacher Institute, “The US ABortion Rate Continues to Drop: Once Again, State Abortion Restrictions Are Not the Main Driver” by Elizabeth Nash and Joerg Dreweke, 9/18/19, https://www.guttmacher.org/gpr/2019/09/us-abortion-rate-continues-drop-once-again-state-abortion-restrictions-are-not-main.
[6] Child Trends, “Dramatic increase in the proportion of births outside of marriage in the United States from 1990 to 2016” by Elizabeth Wildsmith et al, 8/8/18, https://www.childtrends.org/publications/dramatic-increase-in-percentage-of-births-outside-marriage-among-whites-hispanics-and-women-with-higher-education-levels.
[7] National Fatherhood Initiative, “The Proof Is In: Father Absence Harms Children”, https://www.fatherhood.org/father-absence-statistic.
[8] Children’s Defense Fund, “The State of America’s Children 2020 – An Urgent and Preventable Crisis”, https://www.childrensdefense.org/policy/resources/soac-2020-child-poverty/.
[9] Administration for Children and Families, “Child abuse, neglect data released”, 1/15/20, https://www.acf.hhs.gov/media/press/2020/child-abuse-neglect-data-released.
[10] Gun Violence Archive, “Past Summary Ledgers 2014/2015”, https://www.gunviolencearchive.org/past-tolls.
Wishing You All A Blessed Christmas!
READERS CAN FIND MY VIEWS ON ABUSE AND ABUSE-RELATED ISSUES AT ANNA WALDHERR A Voice Reclaimed, Surviving Child Abuse https://avoicereclaimed.com
A Lawyer's Prayers 
As Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (Harley Street specialist and Bible expositor) used to say, ‘We live in a world gone mad…’ Why? because we’ve refused to believe the Good News of Jesus the prophet spoke about!
Thanks for all the research, Anna, and a blessed Christmas to you and all your blog followers.
Thank you for your comment, Erroll. May you have a blessed Christmas, too.
Indeed he will be the King🙏🏼🙏🏼. Happy Sunday
Startling numbers for a nation that boasts being a superpower—- unacceptable really.
This shows where are priorities lie and it is neither with our children nor knowing Christ.
Think of the billions of dollars, folks like Michael Bloomberg, pumped into the election to defeat Trump— and then think of what that money could have done for children in need or for those being born, if they are born at all, into dire straights 😑
I think of that all the time, Cookie.
We look for a Redeemer who will end the oppression and injustices against the most vulnerable, whether they are such because of the color of their skin or their age in gestation. Such stats are very depressing and makes me wonder how someone without Hope survives. But Jesus will reign someday, and maybe very soon. Of course, we must not set a “day or hour” and avoid those who say, “Look, here he is!” But those who love His appearing will be caught away to meet our Lord in the air. Have a blessed Christmas.
I wish you the same. Maranatha!
😢🙏