THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

HOUSE RESOLUTION

INTRODUCED BY WATERS, WHEATLEY, HENNESSEY, ROCK, YOUNGBLOOD, V. BROWN, BROWNLEE, BUXTON, CALTAGIRONE, DAVIS, DiGIROLAMO, GOODMAN, KAVULICH, KIRKLAND, KORTZ, LONGIETTI, MANN, MILLARD, ROEBUCK, STABACK, SWANGER, VULAKOVICH, WAGNER, FLECK, READSHAW, VEREB, M. O'BRIEN AND MIRABITO, SEPTEMBER 19, 2011

INTRODUCED AS NONCONTROVERSIAL RESOLUTION UNDER RULE 35, SEPTEMBER 19, 2011  

A RESOLUTION

Recognizing the month of October 2011 as "Infant Mortality

Awareness Month" in Pennsylvania.

WHEREAS, Infant mortality, referring to the death of a baby

before it reaches its first birthday, is especially prevalent in

communities with large minority populations, high rates of

unemployment and poverty and limited access to safe housing and

medical providers; and

WHEREAS, The United States ranks 29th among industrialized

nations in the rate of infant mortality, and the gap between the

United States infant mortality rate and the rates for the

countries with the lowest infant mortality rate appears to be

widening; and

WHEREAS, The infant mortality rate decreased slightly in 2006

to 6.7 deaths per 1,000 live births, but remains much higher

than the target rate of 4.5 deaths per 1,000 live births set by

Healthy People 2010; and

WHEREAS, The impact of infant mortality is considerable:

there are more than 28,000 deaths to children under one year of

age each year in the United States; and

WHEREAS, Groups across the nation are holding special events

such as baby parades, Bowling for Babies fundraisers,

neighborhood health fairs, open houses, poster contests,

unbirthday parties, clothesline projects, memorial gardens and

other initiatives to raise awareness of infant mortality and

prevention; and

WHEREAS, Organizations such as Healthy Start, a federally

funded program utilizing a strong, community-based coalition,

are having a dramatic impact on decreasing the high rates of

infant mortality, and this Commonwealth is home to six of the

100 Healthy Start projects nationwide; and

WHEREAS, Since 1998, Healthy Start projects across the

country have successfully increased the rate of a pregnant

woman's participation in early prenatal care during her first

trimester from 41.8% to more than 70%, directly saving the lives

of many vulnerable infants; and

WHEREAS, The observance of "Infant Mortality Awareness Month"

by groups such as Healthy Start will increase national awareness

of infant mortality and its contributing factors, and it will

also allow for the facilitation of activities that will help

local communities address this issue; therefore be it

RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives recognize the

month of October 2011 as "Infant Mortality Awareness Month" in

Pennsylvania and commend organizations such as Healthy Start for

their important role in addressing this public health issue.