You will often hear people say, “Children are a blessing”. I totally agree. I believe there is this innate understanding that children are important not just because they are cute (I have never seen an ugly baby), and they smell great (thank you, Johnson’s baby products), but we understand that they are the only way for mankind to have a future. They are our progeny, and most of us want our family lines to continue well into the future. Additionally, all of us want to have healthy babies. Many pregnant moms when asked if they want a boy or girl will tell you it doesn’t matter…… “As long as the baby is healthy”. Ten fingers, ten toes and everything else in the correct place. Unfortunately, not all birth outcomes are healthy, and sadly, not all infants live to celebrate a first birthday. Infant death has therefore become an important issue, not just for loving parents but for communities.
Around the world infant mortality is used as an indicator or measure of how well a population, country or community is doing. In the U.S., we are not doing very well with this indicator. In fact, most other similar countries have lower infant death rates than the U.S. Even some poor countries have better infant mortality rates than the U.S. Further, we are still seeing significantly higher rates for African American babies.
This is a complex public health problem and there are no easy solutions.
To quote the late Nelson Mandela, “There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children.” Regardless of our various backgrounds, political opinions or other differences, it is possible that we could all agree that children are our future. We need to care about their well-being. Their very survival, even at the dawn of their lives, impacts our families, communities and even the state of our nation.
