African-American infants face triple risk of death

African-American infants in Michigan are three times more likely to die before their first birthday than Caucasians, according to a study released Tuesday by the Kids Count in Michigan project and the Michigan League for Human Services.

The study, “Right Start in Michigan – 2008: Targeting Disparity in Infant Mortality,” focuses on the 10 counties where 90 percent of African-American infants are born. It found that while overall infant mortality rates have declined over the past decade, the racial gap between Caucasian and African-American infant deaths is increasing in Michigan’s urban areas. In 2006 there were 16.6 African-American infant deaths per 1,000 live births compared to 5.4 among Caucasian infants.

The report looked at the eight risk factors for infants, including smoking during pregnancy, teen pregnancy, single-mother households, low birth weight and late or no prenatal care. Of these, six have improved over the trend period, with teen pregnancy, smoking during pregnancy, and preterm births among the risks with the most decline. The two risk factors that have increased are low birth weight and single-mother households. Single-mother households are an indication of poverty, according to Judy Putnam, communications coordinator for the Michigan League for Human Services. She said 39 percent of single-mother households in Michigan are in poverty.

Continued -But poverty isn’t the only factor in African-American infant mortality rates, according to James McCurtis, public information officer for the Michigan Department of Community Health. “It’s a complex series of factors,” he said. “For some, it’s socio-economic, access to health care, wellness behavior (diet, smoking, drinking) or education level. Some believe they are not given the same quality of service from a physician because they are a minority.”

Of the 10 counties examined in the study, Ingham County showed the highest  racial disparity with African-American infants 4.7 times more likely to die in their first year than Caucasians. This tops the state average of 3.1. Detroit and the outer Wayne Country area had the second highest disparity ratio at 3.6.

The racial disparity between African-American and European-American infant deaths is nothing new, but the Right Start 2008 report shows that the gap is growing, according to Jane Zehnder-Merrell, director of Kids Count in Michigan, which created the report.

Efforts to ease the problem are facing difficulties.
“There’s a number of initiatives in Michigan, such as Healthy Start, the Nurse/Family Partnership, the Interconception Project, and  Plan First that focus on preconception, pregnancy and infancy in order to improve the chances of a healthy birth and infant survival,” Zehnder-Merrell said. “Substantial reductions in state funding for maternal and infant programs and erosion of funding at the federal level are constricting the scope necessary to address the problem.”

The racial disparity for infant death rates in Ingham County was the worst in the state, with an average 20.1 deaths for each 1,000 African-American infants compared to 4.3 Caucasian infant deaths per thousand between 2004 and 2006.

The good news is that the statewide mortality rate for infants under a year old dropped from 8.1 deaths per 1,000 births in 1998-2000 to 7.6 deaths per 1,000 births in the years 2004-2006.

“The communities are trying very hard to reduce this,” said Putnam. “It’s a very stubborn problem. In Michigan we’re really struggling with a lot of stubborn social problems, and we have to spend money on these [outreach] programs.”

“We have to get a hold of this problem,” said McCurtis. “We’re talking about children’s lives here. We have to give the [state and community] programs a chance to work, and keep evaluating them to make sure they are effective.”