With September being Infant Mortality Awareness Month, let us remember the 17 babies who did not live to celebrate their first birthday in Osceola County in 2021, the latest data available. A pregnancy can bring joy and excitement, but for families who don’t get to reach that one-year milestone with their baby, it can bring sorrow. This is the main driving factor of what motivates the work of the Healthy Start Coalition of Osceola County.
The Healthy Start Coalition of Osceola County, as well as the additional 31 Coalitions across the state, have been working to reduce preterm births and the low birth weight rate, leading causes of infant mortality, and reduce the infant mortality rate. Since Healthy Start legislation was passed in 1991, Florida has seen a 39% statewide decrease in infant mortality. In Osceola County, our infant mortality rate of 3.6 per 1,000 live births is lower than the state’s rate of 5.9 and the Healthy People 2030 goal of 5.0. It is the Coalition’s goal to keep that trend moving in the right direction and to get that number as close to zero as possible.
To help achieve that, the Healthy Start Coalition of Osceola County is grateful to have received funding this past year to form a Fetal Infant Mortality Review Program (FIMR). This provides the Coalition with the opportunity to better understand the circumstances surrounding a fetal and infant death, learn what gaps may exist in resources, and what barriers a family may experience in receiving care. A team of nurse abstractors gather medical and social record information that gets presented to a Case Review Team for review. Their findings and recommendations are then presented to a Community Action Group that will work toward changes for improved fetal and infant outcomes. This month, both groups have met jointly with exciting progress to share. Having identified a need for additional bereavement support resources, in English and Spanish, the Coalition will now offer monthly bereavement support group sessions for families who have experienced a fetal and infant loss.
Any pregnant mom-to-be should complete a Healthy Start Risk Screen at her first prenatal visit. When a baby is born, a Healthy Start Infant Risk Screen should be completed at the birthing facility as well. Both screens will identify risk factors that can be associated with an adverse health outcome, including infant mortality. From that screening, a referral can be made to Healthy Start’s Connect team who will review the screen and risk-factors, provide important health information and resource referrals, and encourage enrollment in a home visiting program. These services are all offered at no cost and designed to improve pregnancy and infant health outcomes. If a mom isn’t screened or referred, they can always contact Healthy Start to make a self-referral. There are programs and services available for both mom and dad!
The infant mortality rate is a key indicator of the overall health of a community. Through the Coalition’s work to reduce the infant mortality rate, we hope to also improve the overall health of Osceola County. For more information on Healthy Start, bereavement support group sessions, getting involved with our Fetal Infant Mortality Review program, and the different programs and services that are available to pregnant women, dads and new parents, visit: www. HealthyStartOsceola. org. Help us get every baby to their first birthday and beyond!
Kerri Stephen is the Executive Director of Healthy Start Coalition of Osceola County.
