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Resource Collection: Infant Mortality

A healthy baby starts with a healthy pregnant person. Yet health care systems in the US are failing birthing people and postpartum parents, often due to systemic racial inequities in existence long before a person becomes pregnant. Mortality is more than twice as high for Black infants (10.8 per 1,000 births) as it is for White infants (4.6). And Black women are more likely to die from pregnancy complications than any other demographic group.
Moreover, the well-being of birthing people and babies is often considered separately though they are intrinsically interdependent. Poor outcomes for the birthing person result in poor outcomes in the short and long term for their baby.

 

This collection of resources highlights the need of all birthing people to have access to care during and after pregnancy, and for families to have access to the regular well-child visits, screenings, and mental health care that give their babies the best start in life.

 

Increase in Maternal Mortality During COVID Underscores Need for Policy Changes

Article February 25, 2022

This article looks at how the rate of women who died during pregnancy or shortly after giving birth increased significantly during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to new data from the National Center for Health Statistics, and Black women continued to experience maternal death at rates more than twice the national average. The need for policy change is emphasized.

FACT SHEET: The Biden-⁠Harris Administration Advances Equity and Opportunity for Black People and Communities Across the Country

Government Document October 19, 2021

This fact sheet looks at President Biden's Executive Order on the White House Initiative on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity for Black Americans. This is an action taken by President Biden and Vice President Harris to tackle systemic racism and make investments to rebuild the economy and the social safety net so all people, including Black Americans, can thrive.

A Crisis Within a Crisis

Website August 25, 2021

This interactive CNN website looks at how Black women are more likely to die from pregnancy complications than any other demographic group, according to the CDC. Advocates fear the pandemic could make it worse.

CDC’s Hear Her campaign

Video August 11, 2021

The CDC’s Hear Her campaign supports efforts to prevent pregnancy-related deaths by sharing potentially life-saving messages about urgent warning signs. Too many women die each year in the US from problems related to pregnancy or delivery complications. This campaign provides material with maternal warning signs that could help save lives.

National Maternal Health Resource Center

Website May 2, 2021

The Maternal Health Learning & Innovation Center offers resources on maternal health as related to various topics including equity, policy, telehealth, public health, workforce and leadership, use of data and evaluation, community and clinical engagement, engaging and educating key players in maternal health, and developing sustainable solutions. Resources are added weekly.

The State of Babies in Ohio

Fact Sheet April 9, 2021

This 2021 factsheet from Ready, Set, Soar Ohio shows that Ohio infants and toddlers experience poor health outcomes and adverse childhood experiences at a higher rate than infants and toddlers in many other states. The factsheet – which features data analyzed and compiled by the Health Policy Institute of Ohio – should serve as an urgent call to local, state, and federal policymakers to support investment in pregnant women, infants, toddlers, and their families so that every child can grow and thrive.

Ohio Eliminating Disparities in Infant Mortality Task Force 2021

Report March 4, 2021

The Ohio Eliminating Disparities in Infant Mortality Task Force was formed to provide Governor DeWine with actionable recommendations on how to eliminate the racial disparity in the state’s infant mortality rate and to create a road map that guides Ohio in meeting the Healthy People 2030 goals for all babies. To understand the health and well-being experiences of Black families and their infants and ensure that the recommendations were grounded in reality, more than 30 Family Listening Sessions were held in 11 counties across the state. This report looks at the themes that emerged from those sessions.