Healthcare Foundation of La Porte (HFL) established the Partners for Healthier Babies Council (PHB), which has partnered with over 30 organizations and numerous community members to address infant mortality, low birth rates, and preterm births within La Porte County.
HFL’s board of directors analyzed county health data and particularly the rising rates for infant mortality. They knew something had to be done to help lower the numbers. HFL Board Member Dr. Gary Wheeland and other members were inspired by the data to take action. From 2017 to 2020, the infant mortality rate rose from 7.9% to 11.4%, making it 51% higher than the national average and 42% higher than Indiana’s average.
“With just over 1,000 births per year, there is no reason that La Porte County cannot solve this problem,” Dr. Wheeland said. “This tells us that there is a huge need for an increased focus on the programs that support women, infants, and families in La Porte County.”
To help combat these issues the PHB Council over the past few years have made impactful partnerships within the county and state of Indiana to help reduce risks for poor child outcomes. The partnerships consist of multiple organizations including the county itself, the State of Indiana, Franciscan Health, Northwest Health, Nurse Family Partnership, and many others. These networks and partnerships are how the PHB is reaching moms and families to help fill the gaps through effective and caring case management and connections to resources.
“The PHB Council addresses the social, behavioral, and health risk factors that contribute to infant mortality, preterm birth, lack of prenatal care, and low birth weight to make a positive impact on birth outcomes,” said HFL Special Projects Manager Mary Wellnitz. “The Council brings to the table evidence-based programming to positively impact infant mortality.”
“Part of the PHB initiative and HFL is capacity building,” said HFL President Maria Fruth. “We are helping our partners to deliver their mission effectively and efficiently, so they have a positive impact on our citizens and county, now and into the future. A component of this is education and communication to council members is to deepen their knowledge, learn new innovations, and exchange ideas.”
“The PHB Council’s goal is that all babies in La Porte County will be born healthy and thrive. For example, the percentage of low birth-weight babies and the infant mortality rate will tell us if we are collectively achieving our goal,” Fruth said.
Currently, the PHB is making strides to guarantee that every baby is born healthy. At the end of 2021, the council made the recommendation to adopt the Fetal Infant Mortality Review (FIMR), which is a community and evidence-based, and action-oriented process that brings together a multidisciplinary team to examine factors that influence infant mortality.
“The team examines de-identified medical information and conducts family interviews to understand how social, economic, health, educational, environmental, and safety issues result in an infant death,” said Dr. Wheeland. “From these conclusions, the team makes recommendations to the Community Action Team (CAT) that may include interventions, policies, and protocols to improve infant mortality rates. The FIMR process to be launched in August 2022 will be led by Amanda Lahners, Administrator of the La Porte County Health Department.”
The PHB is likely on its way to becoming a CAT as they work to analyze their progress and impact of the changes they’re making as they help to support women, infants, and families within the county and beyond.
Additionally, HFL and PHB have launched the Grassroots Maternal and Child Health Initiative (GMCH) under the guidance of Jack Turman, Jr., Ph.D. Professor, Department of Social and Behavioral Science, Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Director, Grassroots MCH Initiative, Indiana University, IUPUI.
“We have established that infant mortality is a critical indicator of population health and it is understood to arise from social causes---so it’s critical to address the inequitable social systems of which infant mortality is a symptom,” Dr. Wheeland said. “The mission of GMCH Initiative is to build the capacity of community members and organizations to bring about systems change that improves birth outcomes and infant development in marginalized neighborhoods. HFL has identified four community members who are excellent representatives of their local communities and have accepted the challenge to train to become active Grassroots Leaders in La Porte County.”
There are many factors parents and caregivers should lbe aware of to reduce the risks, both when pregnant and after the child is born, including:
- Co-sleeping
- Cribs crowded with stuffed animals, blankets, pillows, etc.,
- Inadequate or inappropriate sources of nutrition,
- Lack of breastfeeding,
- Smoking in the home,
- Substance abuse in the home,
- Unsafe sleep,
- Unsafe environment,
- Lack of well child evaluations with immunizations as recommended, and
- Domestic violence.
Dr. Wheeland also recommends that infants should be placed on their back for sleeping on a firm mattress with a tightly fitted sheet, with no other items in the crib such as loose blankets, stuffed toys, and crib bumpers. The baby should also be dressed in a sleep sack to match the temperature of the room.
Numbers from 2021 have shown the work the PHB and HFL are doing. Statistics show rates have declined from the numbers at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, a probable cause as to why the numbers were high a year prior since many women were forced to quarantine and had limited access to health providers.
The entire HFL staff is extremely passionate about this cause and will stop at nothing to ensure all babies have a healthy life from the very beginning.
“We will not rest until every baby born in our county is healthy and thrives!” Wellnitz said.
For more information on the Healthcare Foundation of La Porte, the Partners for Healthier Babies Council, and their fight to reduce infant mortality, low birth rates, and preterm birth rates, please visit their website at https://www.hflaporte.org/healthier-babies.
