| 'Save 100 Babies' Campaign Against Black Infant Mortality |
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Did you know... African American babies are twice as likely to die before their first birthdays as the result of pre-term delivery and low birth weight? In metropollitan Atanta, the rate of black infant dealth--babies who die before their first birthdays--is three to four times that of babies from other racial and ethnic groups?" Let's Talk About It. E-mail us at Save100Babies.gmail.com The landmark PBS Series on health disparities and inequality, "Unnatural Causes: Is Inequality Making Us Sick?" recently hit the airwaves. The second episode in the series, "When the Bough Breaks" explores the ill-effects of racism on the birth outcomes of African American women who are twice as likely to give birth to premature and low birth weight babies placing those babies at greater risk of death and impairment. While the causes for rising black infant mortality are complex, there is mounting evidence that the stressors of race and gender are significant contributors for black babies being born too soon and too little as the principle explanation for infant death. In this episode, I was interviewed and shown conducting a focus group on my research on the chronic stress of race and gender confronted by African American women. I address the stressors of race and gender confronted by African-American women, and the efforts of members of my research team to document and assess the link between disproportionately high rates of preterm and low--birth weight babies at risk for infant mortality. Learn more about the Kellogg Foundation Grant |
