Lancaster

LA Creates Plan to Give Black Babies Better Chance at Life

The racial disparities in infant mortality rates have persisted for decades, but now LA County is coming up with a plan to close the gap

Research from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health shows that, in the county, black babies are three times more likely to die in their first year of life as compared to white babies.

The racial disparities in infant mortality rates have persisted for decades, but now LA County is coming up with a plan to close the gap, NBC4 media partner KPCC reports.

The new action plan announced Friday aims to reduce that disparity by 30 percent in five years by averting the chronic stress that contributes to poor birth outcomes.

"Of course, poverty does make a difference, but what's amazing is that when you look at rich black women and poor white women, poor white women do better," deputy director of the county health department Deborah Allen said. "Race trumps income, race trumps poverty."

Poverty, education, prenatal behavior, and lack of access to health care can be part of the problem, but research has pointed to chronic stress as the culprit. Over time, elevated stress from racism takes a toll on black women's bodies.

Allen says policy makers have to change their way of thinking and acknowledge underlying social problems.

"So it really flips the mindset from, 'we only worry about babies when the woman's already pregnant,' to 'we worry about the woman because we care about her and we care about the babies that she may have,'" Allen said.

Read more at KPCC.

Contact Us