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The Infant Mortality Prevention Initiative seeks to raise awareness surrounding Hamilton County’s infant mortality issues and mobilize the community to improve women's health by:

Improving the health of girls and women we are paving the way for healthy babies
Focus on Preconception Health. “Preconception care aims to promote the health of women of reproductive age before conception and thereby improve pregnancy-related outcomes," according to the Centers for Disease Control.

What is Infant Mortality?
Infant Mortality is the death of a live born infant in the first year of life. In the US, major causes of infant death are congenital abnormalities, pre-term/low birth weight, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), problems related to complications with pregnancy, and respiratory distress syndrome. There are many other contributing factors including abuse, abandonment and neglect.

The Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) is the number of infant deaths that occur per 1,000 live births. Through education we focus on the importance of treating your body as if you were ‘forever pregnant.’ This applies to any female of reproductive age; from the time a girl has her first period through menopause. Taking care of our bodies includes ensuring that we are taking folic acid.

Based on the latest data (2009) Tennessee’s infant mortality rate is one of the worst in the nation, with a rate of 8.0 per 1000 live births. More alarming, the state's black infant death rate of 16.0 per 1000 live births was 2.7 times the rate for white babies (6.0 per 1000 live births). In 2009, Hamilton County had an infant mortality rate of 7.8 per 1000 live births; that means 33 babies did not live to celebrate their frist birthday.

To learn more about Infant Mortality by Race, click here

Low Birth Weight (LBW), one of the leading causes of infant death, is defined as a newborn weighing less than 5 pounds 8 ounces. LBW babies are 21 times more likely to die in their first year of life as normal birthweight babies. Unfortunately in Hamilton County, our LBW percentage is higher than national and state percentages. In Tennessee, LBW is the leading cause of infant death in the first 24 hours after birth.

Additional Resources:

	Preconception Health: 12 Things to DO Before you Become Pregnant Getting Ready for Your Baby
	Healthy Babies Resource Guide: The Infant Mortality Core Leadership Group has compiled this Healthy Babies Resource Guide to highlight community initiatives and programs working to improve birth outcomes in Hamilton County, and to promote improved interagency care coordination and collaboration. Click here for Healthy Babies Resource Guide
	Links: http://www.cdc.gov/omhd/AMH/factsheets/infant.htm http://www.marchofdimes.com/peristats/ http://tennessee.gov/health/infantmortality/PDFs/Preconception.pdf http://tennessee.gov/health/infantmortality/PDFs/GettingReady.pdf http://tennessee.gov/health/infantmortality/PDFs/FolicAcid.pdf

Data and Statistics:

	Hamilton County Infant Mortality Fact Sheet: Click here for PDF
	2008 Infant Mortality Report: Download Full Report (PDF Format) Click here for the report summary

Programs:

Infant Mortality Reduction

Healthy Ladies, Healthy Babies

Fetal Infant Mortality Review