We are fortunate to receive Myron Wegman's annual summary of vital statistics in the December issue of Pediatrics. This valuable information is not readily available to the pediatrician. I am somewhat discomforted by the emphasis continually made by health authorities and lay press on the United States' unfavorable international position in its infant mortality rate of 10.4 per 1000 live-born infants—now 19th in relation to other advanced countries for 1986. However, eight of these countries have less than 100 000 births each year, and most of them have relative ethnic homogeneity.