Supporting Efforts To Reduce Infant Mortality

Floor Speech

Supporting Efforts To Reduce Infant Mortality

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Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 260) supporting efforts to reduce infant mortality in the United States, as amended.

The Clerk read the title of the resolution.

The text of the resolution is as follows:

H. Res. 260

Whereas the infant mortality rate of a nation is an important indicator of that nation's overall health;

Whereas the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have found that the United States ranked 29th in the world in infant mortality in 2004, falling from 12th in 1960;

Whereas there are more than 28,000 deaths to children under 1 year of age each year in the United States;

Whereas preterm birth has a considerable impact on the United States infant mortality rate, in 2005, 68.6 percent of all infant deaths occurred to preterm infants, up from 65.6 percent in 2000;

Whereas the United States infant mortality rate for non-Hispanic Black women was 2.4 times the rate for non-Hispanic White women in 2005;

Whereas in 2005, the United States infant mortality rates were above average for non-Hispanic Black women at 13.63 deaths per 1,000 live births, for Puerto Rican women at 8.30 deaths per 1,000 live births, and for American Indian or Alaska Native women at 8.06 deaths per 1,000 live births;

Whereas in Memphis, Tennessee, the infant mortality rate is three times higher than that of the United States (higher than any other city in the country), and the 2005 infant mortality rate in the 38108 zip code of Memphis was deadlier for babies than that of the countries of Vietnam, Iran, and El Salvador with 31 deaths per 1,000 live births, 5 times that of the 2005 national average of 6.86 deaths per 1,000 live births;

Whereas adequate prenatal care has a studied, positive effect on the health of the baby;

Whereas prenatal care is one of the most important interventions for ensuring the health of pregnant women and their infants;

Whereas 29 percent of mothers 15 to 19 years of age received no early prenatal care in 2004 according to the Department of Health and Human Services;

Whereas non-Hispanic Black mothers were 2.6 times more likely than non-Hispanic White mothers to begin prenatal care in the third trimester, or not receive prenatal care at all;

Whereas babies born to mothers who received no prenatal care are three times more likely to be born at low birth weight, and five times more likely to die, than those whose mothers received prenatal care, as stated by the Department of Health and Human Services;

Whereas the United States' high infant mortality rate reflects in part racial disparities in premature and low birthweight babies; and

Whereas the racial disparities in infant mortality may relate to socioeconomic status, access to medical care, and the education level of the mother: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the House of Representatives supports efforts to understand racial disparities and the rate of infant mortality in order to lower the rate of infant mortality in the United States.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Cohen) and the gentlewoman from Tennessee (Mrs. Blackburn) each will control 20 minutes.

The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Tennessee.

GENERAL LEAVE

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Tennessee?

There was no objection.

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of House Resolution 260, a resolution that supports efforts to reduce infant mortality in the United States.

The United States amazingly enough ranks 29th in the world in the incidence of infant mortality. That is a shocking figure. And while there are a lot of reasons for infant mortality--there's education, there's health care, there are certain other issues that may be existent--health care is the primary one. And as we discuss health care in this Congress, it is hard to submit looking at the United States being 29th in the world in infant mortality, that we don't have a problem somewhere with our health care system.

The extremely high incidence of infant death in the African American community is particularly troubling. In Shelby County, Tennessee, the county which I represent, African American babies die at three times the Nation's infant mortality rate. Prematurity is the number one cause of infant death in the United States, accounting for at least 60 percent of those deaths. Poor women are much more likely to deliver a premature or a low-weight baby as they cannot afford prenatal care or are simply not educated about what is required for women during pregnancy or have access to health clinics or inner-city doctors, general practitioners, which might be provided if we can pass a health care bill here.

We must work together to lower our country's infant mortality rate, and that starts with lowering our rate of premature births and educating people and providing access to health care.

I was spurred to introduce H. Res. 260 by the devastating rate of infant mortality in Memphis, in Shelby County. And I represent part of Shelby County; the honorable gentlewoman from Brentwood, Tennessee, represents a part of Shelby County, as well, on the Republican side.

In 2007 the 38108 ZIP code in north Memphis, which is a predominantly low-income neighborhood, had an infant mortality rate of 31 deaths per 1,000 live births. That's almost five times the Nation's rate of 6.78 deaths per 1,000 live births; and that ranks the 38108 area worse than the developing nations of Iran, Indonesia, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Syria, and Vietnam in infant mortality.

In my own family, there was an incident of infant mortality. My mother and father's first child, Rosemary, died at 1 month of age in 1945. She was buried with some other family members, not direct family, in 1945. When my father passed in 1992, we buried him at Elmwood Cemetery, a different cemetery than where my sister was buried. But my mother was so touched and always was by the loss of her child that she had her name put on the stone with my father even though her remains were at another cemetery where her name was also.

That taught me something about infant mortality: a mother never forgets the loss of a child, and it affects that mother forever. So it's a problem that affects people of all races and stays with us for all time.

I recently had the opportunity to visit Africa, several countries there, one of which was Liberia, which has a very high rate of infant mortality as well. They have very few doctors there. They don't have good health care. And that has got to be a problem that we need to deal with and we try to with our foreign aid, and I commend President Bush as well as President Obama for extending aid to Africa and so many humanitarian efforts, particularly PEPFAR, but also others.

This month Nicholas Kristof and his wife, Sheryl WuDunn, authored a book, published it, entitled ``Half the Sky,'' which is about women in the world and how they have had difficulties rising to the level that they could and that we could empower women and have a tremendous economic advantage, particularly in disadvantaged countries, by giving women the opportunity to participate in the workforce and be educated. Much of the book is dedicated to the enslavement of women but also to maternal mortality and infant mortality as well. I encourage everybody to consider reading the book and taking up this cause.

This September is Infant Mortality Awareness Month; so I am especially proud that we are considering this important resolution today.

I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting passage of House Resolution 260, which supports efforts to address this important public health problem and a moral problem, and understand racial disparities that persist in infant mortality and try to make America better than 29th in the world.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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