Dozens of parents and their children visited the Rosamond Gifford Zoo for the “Syracuse Stroll” to learn about infant mortality…and how to prevent it. The Onondaga County Health Department wants to ensure infants in Syracuse survive beyond their first birthday. The infant mortality rate, especially among Black and Latin-X families, is far higher than state and national averages. Sunny Jones with Syracuse Healthy Start says the health department starts by connecting families to health care and other resources.
“Our community health workers go into the homes and work with the families and work on their goals," Jones said. "And if that's one of the goals, that they need to have that assistance, getting connected with insurance, then we're gladly happy to do that for them and with them to enable them to be able to continue advocating for themselves.”
But accessing pre-natal and infant health care isn’t always easy. County health commissioner Dr. Katie Anderson says it’s especially challenging for those living in poverty.
“It's hard to even get access to a primary care appointment and get your child to vaccines they need to get back to school," Anderson said. "The system is strained on all levels and unfortunately, when the health system becomes strained, the people who feel it the most are the people who are underinsured or uninsured. So that's something we absolutely need to improve.”
Anderson says pre-natal care is critical to preventing infant deaths due to premature birth and low birth weight. At Syracuse Healthy Start, Jones says they see unsafe sleeping as a main contributor to infant deaths. She says it’s important to review the simple ABCs when putting babies to bed…
“Making sure that they are in their own crib, that they are alone in that crib, no pillows, no blankets, and that they are being put to sleep on their back. So we call that the ABCs, and now they have also added the 'S', which means that you're in a smoke-free environment.”
The health department secured a five-year, $5 million federal grant for the Syracuse Healthy Start program due to disparities in maternal and infant health in several zip codes.
