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I10GREATSTARTSHEREFALL2011DecreasingInfantMortalityinMichiganBYTERIBANASnfantmortalitytherateatwhichbabiesdiebeforetheirrstbirthdayisacomplexproblemwithmanycauses.Nowthedevastatingissueisgettingseriousnewattentionsinceitbecameoneofthemainindicatorsofoverallhealthandwell-beinginMichiganonGov.RickSnydersMiDashboard.InMaytheMichiganDepartmentofCommunityHealthconvenedanInfantMortalitySteeringCommitteetoplanasummitontheissuewithseveralhundredofthebestmindsinMichigan.Thecommitteeintendstoconrmtherootcausesofinfantmortalityassesscurrenteffortstoaddresstheissuereviewbestinvestmentsandhelpprioritizeevidence-basedapproachesfordecreasingoverallinfantmortalityinMichigan.TheEarlyChildhoodInvestmentCorporationisco-sponsoringthesummitwhichisscheduledinOctober.ThereisnoonespeciedcauseofinfantmortalityrathertherearemanylifestylemedicalandsocioeconomicfactorsthatcontributetothisproblemsaidJennySalesaECICsspecialistforpediatricandfamilyhealth.Infactpublichealthprofessionalswidelyagreethatitisprimarilyasocialproblemwithmedicalconsequences.AccordingtothelatestMichiganKidsCountreporttherewere7.6deathsforevery1000birthsin2009.Michigansratehasremainedhigherthanthenationalaveragelastreportedat6.7in2007for20years.ThedeathrateforAfrican-Americanbabiesbeforeageoneissignicantlyhigher.AmongAfricanAmericanstherewere16.4deathsfor1000birthsinMichiganduringthesameperiod.African-Americanbabiesare2.5to3timesmorelikelythanwhiteinfantstodiebeforereachingtheirrstbirthdays.ThisdisparityhaspersistedinMichiganandnationallyfordecadesdespiteanarrayofprogramstoaddressthisissue.OnlythreestatesWisconsinKansasandIndianahavehigherAfrican-Americaninfantmortalityrates.Whatthatmeansisforevery1000African-AmericanchildrenborninMichiganabout17ofthemwilldiebeforetheyreach12monthsofagesaidSalesa.Wearetalkingaboutsobabiesdyinghere.IfthatdoesntmakepeoplesmouthsdropopenIdontknowwhatwould.