National Infant Mortality Awareness Month

Floor Speech

* Ms. EDWARDS. Mr. Speaker, last month was National Infant Mortality Awareness Month and was established to highlight the tragic occurrences of infant deaths across the nation and to raise awareness about those programs that can help save lives and ensure our children are healthy. As we know, infant mortality, the rate at which babies die before their first birthday, is an important measure of the nation's health and a worldwide indicator of health status and social well-being.

* Although the overall infant mortality rate (IMR) in the United States (U.S.) steadily declined for several decades, it has leveled off for the past several years. In 2009, the rate of infant deaths before age one for the U.S. was 6.4 per 1,000 live births. Unfortunately, the U.S. IMR is higher than the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) average and that of most European countries.

* Though the rate for Maryland has dropped from 7.2 to 6.7, the rates throughout the state remain astoundingly high. Last year, the infant mortality rate for Prince George's County was 9.0 or 22% of all infant deaths in the state of Maryland. Montgomery County realized a decline from 5.5 the previous year to 4.3 this year, but still had the fourth highest number of deaths in Maryland (behind Baltimore City, Prince George's County, and Baltimore County).

* In our nation, minority communities are especially affected by higher IMR. For example, across the country African Americans have higher incidences of infant mortality than do their white counterparts. In Maryland, the IMR for African American mothers was 11.8 compared to 4.1 for white mothers. These statistics bring to light the staggering disparities between race, ethnicity, age, education, and socio-economic levels.

* National Infant Mortality Month gives us an opportunity to raise public awareness about the levels at which this problem continues to affect our communities, and to educate women about ways they may reduce infant mortality with good health care during the mother's pregnancy and the early years of the child's life. Research indicates that a number of federal programs may reduce the IMR. Programs such as the Maternal and Child Health Block Grant and Healthy Start are vital programs tasked with bringing awareness to factors that contribute to the nation's high infant mortality rate, including low birth weight, congenital abnormalities, and sudden infant death syndrome. With the support of local organizations and clinics like the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services and the Suitland Health and Wellness Center, we can advance a number of strategies to reduce infant mortality and help mothers and children live long and healthy lives.

* I will continue to support and bring awareness to programs that increase access to health care and improve the quality of prenatal and newborn care to prevent the causes of infant mortality. As our nation recovers from these difficult economic times and families may experience gaps in health coverage due to job loss, transitions, and financial instability, it is especially vital that we continue to support adequate funding for these programs. We need to ensure that our babies get a healthy start to celebrate their first birthday and beyond.

* I am pleased that even though the House of Representatives did not recognize National Infant Mortality Awareness Month by passing a resolution, the Senate did. By doing so, it brought much needed attention and awareness to the importance of reducing our infant mortality rate.

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