Experts tackle black infant mortality

“African-American infants are more than twice as likely as white infants to die before their first birthday, and the racial gap has gotten wider over time.”

“The disparity came as the mortality rate for babies born to white mothers fell faster, from 8.7 per 1,000 in 1986 to 5.6 per 1,000 in 2006. In Miami, black infants had a mortality rate of 11.5 per 1,000 live births, while white and Hispanic infants had a mortality rate of 4.7, lower than the national average of 6.9 per 1,000 live births.”

Dr. Diane Rowley addresses that, “It’s been that way for 100 years and we haven’t been able to change it. It’s really an enigma. People have been working on it actively since the early 80s and what we know is that black babies are much more likely to be born at lighter weights and they’re much more likely to be born early – very preterm – and because they’re premature and they don’t have a normal birth weight – that leads to an elevated infant mortality rate.”

Dr. Rowley point out “a number of factors that could contribute to the problem, including inequities in access to a quality education, good jobs, decent and affordable housing, safe neighborhoods and environments, nutritious foods, and adequate healthcare.”

“RACISM-RELATED STRESS CITED AS CULPRIT” for the black infant mortality and “COMMUNITY CAN HELP” by participating in eradicating this disparity.

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Sources:

http://www.sfltimes.com/index.php?Itemid=42&id=1693&option=com_content&task=view

Picture: http://www.img-photo.com/id8.html

Swati Patel, VERTICES intern

How can we fix the problem of higher Black Infant Mortality rate?

Please share your views by selecting one or more options. You can also provide me with some additional thoughts.

Swati Patel, VERTICES intern

Infant Mortality Study Shows How Our Health Care System Fails Women And Children

A new study published in “the Lancet” writes that “Women in the United States face higher infant mortality rates than women from countries with similar levels of wealth, and the rate remains stubbornly resistant to what little efforts are made to combat it.”

The article also pin points that, “the infant mortality rate is strongly correlated to the high infant mortality rate among African-American women, which (despite all stereotypes to the contrary) isn’t correlated to income or educational levels, pregnancy care or the behavior of mothers. Yet every day, African-American children die in numbers higher than even those born to recent immigrants from Africa.”

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United States

6.7 per 1,000

$46,400 (2009)

$6,719 (2006)

4% (2008)

“

Sources:

http://attackerman.firedoglake.com/2010/05/31/childmortalityinamericaisdsgraceful/

Swati Patel, Vertices intern

Reducing Black Infant Mortalities

The “infant mortality rate” is the number of babies who die before their first birthday for every 1,000 live births. In the United States, the maternal and infant health has been improving, but despite this success, problems still remain. Although the U.S. infant mortality rate has fallen steadily in recent decades, the nation ranked 29th among industrialized countries. In addition, disparities remain among racial and ethnic groups in many measures of maternal and child health. The infant mortality rate among infants of black mothers in 2004 was 13.6—almost two and a half times higher than the rate of 5.7 for white people. This difference in infant mortality rates means that between 13 and 14 Black babies out of every 1,000 that are born do not even make it through their first year, compared to between 5 and 6 white babies out of every 1,000 that die before age 1.

Although Black infants are consistently less likely to survive and thrive, services and resources are increasingly evolving to reduce and eliminate the disparity gap. Several organizations are springing up, collaborating to identify disparities and develop initiatives to serve their local communities. Outreach programs are targeting black women to guide the way through pregnancy to increase healthy births. These efforts come in forms such as direct counseling and education to women, increasing awareness among health care providers, research, and advocacy, among others.

It is important for every Black woman to have a healthy pregnancy and, after a safe delivery, a healthy infant, so join and help the cause!