In an effort to help more infants reach their first birthday, the Guilford County Board of Commissioners is drawing attention to the County’s work to reduce infant mortality and eliminate racial disparities in infant and maternal health. On August 17, 2023, the Board will proclaim September 2023 “Infant Mortality Awareness Month” in Guilford County and encourage birthing parents to take steps to protect and promote the health and wellbeing of their families by making healthy personal lifestyle choices, seeking regular preventative health care, and participating in the various initiatives Every Baby Guilford leads.
Despite extensive work by the Guilford County Public Health Department through programs like Every Baby Guilford, the county continues to have one of the highest infant mortality rates in North Carolina and considerable disparities between infant survival rates. In 2021, 44 infants died in Guilford County before their first birthday, a rate of 7.6 deaths per 1,000 births. For every one (1) white infant that died in Guilford County, three (3) Black infants did not make it through their first year. Black babies also make up the largest proportion of infant deaths in the county. In 2021, Black babies made up 38% of births in the county yet they represented 64% of infant deaths.
Every Baby Guilford is a collective action movement that is building collaborative solutions centered in and working together with the community to disrupt longstanding racial disparities in infant mortality. Led by the Guilford County Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Public Health, Every Baby Guilford is working to eliminate racial disparities and prevent infant deaths. The collective program will acknowledge September as Infant Mortality Awareness Month by implementing a collective action strategy to disrupt disparities in infant and maternal health across the county.
The program is earning national attention. Every Baby Guilford was recently honored by the National Association of Counties (NACo) with a 2023 Achievement Award Best in Category recognition for Health at the annual Conference & Exposition for the program’s work to end infant mortality disparities by 50% by 2026 and eliminate them by 2031.
In addition to proclaiming September Infant Mortality Awareness Month, the Board of Commissioners will recognize Jean Workman, Program Manager for Every Baby Guilford, and other Public Health staff for the collective action’s work, accomplishment, and efforts to advance equity and reduce infant mortality in Guilford County.
“Every baby and family should have equitable opportunities and access to achieve the healthiest start in life, and through programs like Every Baby Guilford, we are working together as One Guilford to improve infant and parental health so that all babies have a chance to thrive,” said Board of County Commissioners Chair Melvin “Skip” Alston. “This award shines a light on the important work Every Baby Guilford is doing year-round to save the lives of all infants in Guilford County. We are also proud of the County’s innovative work in emergency medical services, preventing domestic violence-related homicides, and decreasing the number of people dying from opioid poisoning. Working together, Guilford County is leveraging our recourses to save lives and achieve better outcomes for our citizens.”
NACo recognizes innovation in county government. Along with Every Baby Guilford winning the health category, Guilford County was also honored with three other NACo awards in the criminal justice and public safety, and risk and emergency management categories.
Learn more about the Collective Action Movement’s work on the Every Baby Guilford website.
Visit the NACo website for more information about NACo’s Achievement Awards.
