Community Voice: Infant Mortality

          Placing an infant to sleep on its back has been a universal prevention for SIDS and may be the largest contributing factor for the decline in SIDS cases. In the last two decades, the cases of infants who died from SIDS declined by more than 50 %, with less than seven infants per 10,000 infants that died from SID. (American 1)

Perinatal mortality refers to the no of deaths in the first week of life and no of fetal deaths (stillbirths). Causes and determinants of neonatal deaths and stillbirths differ from those causing and contributing to early neonatal and child deaths. Neonatal deaths and stillbirths emanate from poor maternal health, ineffective care during pregnancy, improper management of complications during pregnancy and delivery, poor hygienic conditions and the

Infant mortality rate constitutes the death of a baby before their first birthday. Mortality rates around the world differ tremendously with America leading the first world countries at an alarming rate of 6.1 deaths per 1,000 births. Conversely, Finland and Japan secure the last, most desirable position, with deaths totaling 2.3 per 1,000 births, as of 2010. (Ovaska-Few, 2015) In 2014, over 23,000 babies died in the United States. (CDC, 2016) Exploring the mortality rates in America brings light to a dire need for additional interventions and research as to why this developing nation has the highest rate of infant deaths before the age of 1 year old. African Americans face the worst outcomes of infant death compared to whites, Latino, and their Native American peers in North Carolina. (Ovaska-Few, 2015) This paper will explore why African American are the leading race for infant mortality and the steps that health communities need to take to address this devastating occurrence.

“Compared with European Americans, African American infants experience disproportionately high rates of low birth weight (LBW) and preterm delivery and are more than twice as likely to die during their 1st year of life”(Giscombé, C. L., & Lobel, M., 2005). The infant mortality rate for African Americans is 13.7 deaths per 1000 live births, more than twice the rate (5.7) for White Americans in the U.S. (Kung, Hoyert, Xu, & Murphy, 2008). A lot of the racial disparity in infant mortality can be explained by low birthweight and preterm delivery, which are also disproportionately and often experienced by African Americans (Martin et al., 2007).

In the United States, the process of childbirth is far more dangerous for African American women than it is for White women. For African American women, the path to a healthy birth is riddled with barriers. There are many health disparities between the two races. African American women face much higher low-birth and infant mortality rates; the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has published that although infant mortality rates in the U.S. have dropped by over 10% in the past ten years, a large gap continues to exist between the health of the races during the entire childbirth process. (World Health Organization, 2010) In the United States, Black infants are more than twice as likely to die within the first year of life as a White infant, and this disparity has not seen advancements in the last century. Many of these deaths can be attributed to low birth weight, and preterm birth among black infants.

     When putting it all together the number of lives births each year, SIDS remains the leading cause of death in the United States among infants between one month and one year of age and second only to congenital anomalies as the leading overall cause of death for all infants less than one year of age.

These five factors alone accounted for "sixty-one percent of infant mortalities in Ohio from 2006 to 2010" (Ohio Department of Health). Some of these factors can be drastically reduced with increased education among women whether they are pregnant or not. The old saying "knowledge is power" becomes of upmost importance when it can save a child's life. The increase of education on smoking cessation, prenatal care, nutrition, and infant sleeping precautions during pregnancy can help to lower these rates. If mothers were better educated on these topics the rate of compliance would increase and the risks that come along with them can be decreased as suggested by The Ohio Collaborative to Prevent Infant Mortality (OCPIM). Poverty has also been shown to play a role in infant mortality.

Infant mortality is said to be an important indicator of the community’s health. It is also one of the strongest indicators of the disparities that are faced in the U.S. today. A great way to address this issue as a whole, and try to work at fixing the problem, is by educating African American women on the importance of carrying a child to

The results found a high risk factor in prone and side sleeping in infants 13 to 24 weeks old and that the risk for prone sleeping was higher in girls than it was for boys. Also, the incidence of SIDS was higher in prone and side sleeping positions than supine sleeping position. The incidence of SIDS was found to be greater in infants of low birth weight and that were considered preterm. Additionally, infants who experienced intrauterine retarded growth showed a higher risk for SIDS when slept in the

What is sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)? SIDS is when an infant passes away unexpectedly before the age of 1. According to the article, The Factors Contributing to the Risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, SIDS is non explanatory after a thorough investigation, which may include an autopsy, evaluation of where the infant passed away, and medical history. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 1,500 infants passed away from SIDS in 2013. SIDS is the number one cause of infant death and can happen during the first month to first year of life. According to the article published by The Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine, According to the National Institute for Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), “African American babies are twice as likely as Caucasian babies to die from SIDS, and Native American and Alaska Native babies are three times as likely. The same high rates of SIDS cases that occur among Native Americans in the United States are found among First Nations tribes in Canada and aboriginal groups in Australia and New Zealand. The reason for these differences is not yet known, but may be related to other risk factors listed below."

“ Life expectancy at birth indicates the number of years a newborn infant would live if prevailing

In 1998, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) endorsed that women who are able to be pregnant should ingest 400 µg of folic acid in a daily manner from fortified food and or supplements as well as through an ordinary eating regime. [11]

Unborn babies who have mothers who smoke are more likely to die of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). The placenta joins the mother and the baby, which is where the baby gets food and oxygen. When a mother smokes the placenta does not work as well as it should. The babies are also more likely to be born early. Every time a woman smokes she is giving her child less oxygen. It is very easy for a pregnant woman to stop smoking when the people around her do not smoke. When a baby is born to a mother who smokes the baby will not grow well as it should. Many experts agree that smoking is an unhealthy habit every one specially and for pregnant women and can not only hurt the mother but really can have negative effect on the baby as well.

Infant mortality rate (IMR) in the US has been much higher than many industrialized countries as well as some of the underdeveloped countries. Some of the differences (about 40%) in the IMR can be explained by variations in reporting of fetal and infant death, measurement techniques and so on (Chen, A., Oster, E., Williams, H., 2015). Moreover, high rate of premature birth (births in less than 37 weeks of gestation) in the US, is also a major contributor to high IMR. However, according to the research by Chen and Williams found that the 60% cannot be explained by those differences. Infant Mortality Rate is an important indicator of the effectiveness of overall health system. In developed countries, birth defects, prematurity and other conditions of the pregnancy are the main factors contributing to levels of IMR. Due to the current trend of deferring the pregnancy as well as an upsurge of fertility treatments (IVF) raised the chance of having a multiple birth. Moreover, the chance of premature birth is significantly increased with IVF treatment. In the US, IMR differs among some segments of the population, with the highest IMR among unmarried, African-American and low educated women (Chen, A., Oster, E., Williams, H., 2015). Although, multiple analysis supports negative a relationship between IMR and health spending, many of the low health spending nations have much better outcomes when it comes to IMR than countries with high level of health care expenditures. Therefore,

It is frequently been suggested that the infant mortality rate (IMR) is a reliable indicator of a country's civilization and focus on the welfare of its citizens (Berger 2001). Although global infant mortality rates has shown steady improvement over the past century, many developing countries continue to experience inordinately high rates compared to the world levels; surprisingly, though, even the United States which claims to have one of the best healthcare systems in the world continues to experience relatively high infant mortality rates, higher even than many developing nations (Berger 2001). This paper will provide an overview of the problem, followed by