Give Babies a Chance to Live

After 40 years of decreasing, infant death rates have stalled since 2000. A new report by Trust for America’s Health finds that widespread chronic diseases such as high blood pressure, obesity and diabetes in American women are taking a toll on American infants. Low income and African American babies are most at risk.

“The explanation for this alarming inequality is that America’s most serious health problems disproportionately affect African American women, who are also more likely to be uninsured, and the resulting illnesses and complications are taking a toll on their newborns,” said Jeff Levi, Executive Director of Trust for America’s Health. “As a nation, we will once again see healthier babies and dropping infant mortality rates when we start ensuring every woman in America has a fair shot at being healthy and having a healthy baby.”

The report, Healthy Women, Healthy Babies states that approximately 30 percent of women who give birth have some form of pregnancy complication, which cost the U.S. at least $26.2 billion in 2005. By improving the health of all women ages 15-44, and having earlier interventions for those with chronic conditions and risks, it should improve infant mortality rates.

"Women need to seek early prenatal care and make necessary lifestyle changes (not drinking alcohol and smoking). They need to understand that their health status can affect their unborn baby,” states David Mundy, MD, FACOG University of Missouri-Kansas City/Truman Medical Centers Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

In Kansas City, there were 308 infant deaths between 2001 and 2005. Three hundred and one of the infant deaths occurred among three racial/ethnic groups: Hispanics (34 deaths), Caucasians (92 deaths), and African Americans (177 deaths).

According to a report by the Kansas City, Missouri Health Department, there were some common traits among birth mothers whose babies died: they were usually black, younger than 20, unmarried, have not graduated from high school, no prenatal care, used drugs during the pregnancy and were enrolled in Medicaid.

Prematurity or the baby was born before completing the normal gestation period, was the leading reason for infant deaths. Pre-term infants have a greater risk of death, while survivors have an increased chance of other health issues that may persist through childhood and beyond

In Dying So Young, the KCMO Health Department recommends working with community groups to devise solutions for at-risk populations and decrease the infant death rate.

To read the full report, you can visit the Kansas City Missouri website, at www.kcmo.org under Health Department, in 2007 Annual Reports, under Infant Mortality.

Trust for America’s Health is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to saving lives by protecting the health of every community and working to make disease prevention a national priority. www.healthyamericans.org