Resolution 010675

..Title Authorizing the Committee on Public Health and Human Services to hold hearings to investigate the causes and effects of continuing high levels of infant mortality in Philadelphia African American neighborhoods. ..Body WHEREAS, Infant Mortality indicates that a baby dies before a first birthday, its incidence varies greatly for white and minority women in the City of Philadelphia; and WHEREAS, Overall, for every 1000 live births in Philadelphia in 1999, there were 11.6 infant deaths; but for every 1000 live births in the African American community the rate of infant deaths was 16.7 while there were 5.8 infant deaths for white babies; and WHEREAS, A complex set of factors, not all of which are fully understood, impacts the large discrepancy between white and black communities and the health of mothers and their babies; and WHEREAS, Many studies have pointed to the general conditions of poverty and unhealthy living conditions, the lack of prenatal care, the use of drugs, alcohol and tobacco can precipitate low birth weight of a newborn; and WHEREAS, Low birth weight can be the single most important indicator of complications for the survival of a baby, it is increasingly being linked to mental, emotional and physical stress of the mother; and WHEREAS, Northwest Philadelphia has not been a recipient of the Healthy Start Program, neither has it been a target for substantive increases in maternal health care or maternal health education; and WHEREAS, An infant death produces such a cycle of trauma, depression, grief and loss within a family that it can negatively influence the society-at-large; and WHEREAS, New initiatives are needed to improve the chances of infant survival and to decrease infant mortality throughout minority communities; now therefore RESOLVED, THAT THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, Authorize the Committee on Public Health and Human Services to hold hearings to investigate the causes and effects of continuing high levels of infant mortality in Northwest Philadelphia's African American neighborhoods. ..End