By Barbara Holden
A high infant mortality rate haunts Shelby County. In this community it has become all too common for a baby to die in the first year of life.
In the past, it has been the heartbreak of families, with only a few others understanding the magnitude of their loss.
The issue was catapulted to the general community’s attention in 2005 by The Commercial Appeal’s award-winning series on infant mortality.
The Aug. 22 broadcast of the documentary “Babyland” on ABC’s “20/ 20” has further highlighted Shelby County’s struggle, leading more of us to understand.
“As painful as the story was to watch on television, it is exponentially more heartbreaking to see and hear the personal stories of our citizens who have lost children before they’ve even had a chance to live,” said Shelby County Mayor A C Wharton.
In 2006, Gov. Phil Bredesen and Wharton convened an infant mortality summit. Out of this came efforts like Shelby County’s Infant Mortality Reduction Initiative, Community Voice and Centering Pregnancy. These programs focus on reducing infant mortality rates in Shelby County. The recent national spotlight supports our need to continue this focus.
Now that more of us understand the problem, it is our collective responsibility to ensure that acceptance of premature births and infant deaths does not become a social norm in Shelby County. Although solving the systemic problems associated with these issues can seem almost paralyzing, our community does not have the luxury of hand-wringing when it comes to such critical issues.
Our challenge is not an easy one. There are no simple solutions. The systemic conditions that contribute to prematurity and infant death include poverty, community education, understanding the importance of prenatal care and a multitude of other factors.
These can be addressed only through long-term, intense and concentrated approaches.
We know there is a domino effect. We hope that comprehensive early childhood studies, such as the CANDLE (Conditions Affecting Neurocognitive Development and Learning in Early Childhood) study coordinated by the Department of Preventive Medicine at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, as well as other focused interventions by the Health Department, many local community organizations and the county mayor’s office, will help us understand how to keep that first domino from falling.
The drive to change this trend must radiate from the core of our community value system. We can be sure that it’s going to take our entire community to change it.
Like most public health issues, this one boils down to public will, resources and support.
It is essential that we continue this dialogue and continue to learn all we can about the causes of prematurity and infant death. This must include not only the medical but the social conditions associated with these issues.
Wharton recently summarized it well when he said, “While we have made significant local advances in educating the public and mentoring at-risk pregnant mothers through efforts such as Centering Pregnancy and Community Voice, our achievements will never be enough as long as one baby is lost before his or her first birthday to truly avoidable and preventable circumstances.”
The words “truly avoidable and preventable circumstances” are the key to our success. Can we prevent all infant deaths? No. Can we prevent all those that are “truly avoidable and preventable”? Absolutely.
Shelby County Mayor’s Office on Early Childhood and Youth infant mortality coordinator Antoinette Holman has received an influx of calls from people asking how they can help.
I hope you’ll do the same and give your time and talents to help.
To find out how you can participate in this important initiative, call the Mayor’s Office on Early Childhood and Youth at 526-1822.
For more information, visit at theurbanchildinstitute.org or dial 211 for the Public Library and Information Center.
——————–
It is our responsibility to ensure that acceptance of premature births and infant deaths does not become a social norm in Shelby County, urges Barbara Holden .
Barbara Holden is a director at The Urban Child Institute.
——————–
Originally published by Barbara Holden .
(c) 2008 Commercial Appeal, The. Provided by ProQuest LLC. All rights Reserved.
Comments