What Happens in New Orleans Should NOT Stay in New Orleans

Last week myself and several other Every Woman Southeast leadership team members had the opportunity to attend an Infant Mortality Summit in New Orleans. The meeting was sponsored by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) in collaboration with the Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs (AMCHP), the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) and the March of Dimes. The meeting was specifically for states in the Department of Health and Human Services Regions IV and VI - 16 states that have historically had among the worst rates of infant mortality in the nation. The objectives for the meeting were ambitious and included to understand strategies to improve birth outcomes; create synergy among State Health Officials, MCH Directors, Medicaid and State partners; identify clear strategies and outcomes for each state (completed by state teams); investigate a common strategy for the states in the region; and create a unified message that builds on best practices. From the North Carolina perspective, I thought that the meeting went very well. I feel very hopeful that this may well be the significant push many of us have been waiting for to finally shine the light on infant mortality and move forward with some new energy and innovation. I'll post the proceedings on our website as soon as they become available.

And on a side note, I must say that I had a chance to taste my first Beignets at Cafe du Monde in the French Quarter. All I can say is "YUM". We Southerners may have our challenges but we also have some great food!

Update from South Carolina

As we look back over 2010, South Carolina can be proud to have taken great strides in advancing preconception health. Consortia across the state have met to identify stakeholders, classify relevant data and brainstorm plans that will be promoted in each of its perinatal regions in 2011. Stakeholders in each region included professionals from all areas of MCH. Policy makers, nurses, social workers, OB/GYNS and health educators have rallied around the promotion of preconception health and the core ideas of Every Woman Southeast.

Using birth certificate and PRAMS data, MPH graduate student Stewart Davis uncovered interesting information about the four different perinatal regions. For example, the Pee Dee and Low Country regions have significant numbers of women of childbearing age who are overweight and obese. They also have challenges with gestational diabetes. The Piedmont region has the highest prevanlence of women who smoke during pregnancy as well as slightly higher rates of women who have chronic hypertension.

To learn more about South Carolina's consortia meetings and outcomes, go to the South Carolina webpage on the EveryWomanSoutheast.com website. Special thanks to Stewart Davis for serving as a guest blogger! Stewart's career goal is to create policies that will develop and fund programs to reduce the non-white infant mortality rate in South Carolina.