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H H S Department of Health and Human Services
Health Resources and Services Administration
Maternal and Child Health

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Picture of infant foot - Infant Mortality Summit 2012

The 2012 Region IV & Region VI Infant Mortality Summit, held on January 12th and 13th in New Orleans, Louisiana was the launching point for a collaborative and multi-State initiative that aims to improve infant health outcomes and reduce infant mortality and prematurity across the Nation, particularly among disparate populations. 

Video and Audio

View the Opening Plenary Session
Listen to the Opening Plenary Session (MP3 - 202MB)

View the Federal/National Initiatives on Infant Mortality Summit Session

Breakout Sessions
View Breakout I: Community-Based Prematurity Prevention -- The Kentucky Experience 
Listen to Breakout I: Community-Based Prematurity Prevention -- The Kentucky Experience (MP3 - 179MB)

View Breakout II: Working Together to Improve Birth Outcomes in North Carolina 
Listen to: Breakout II: Working Together to Improve Birth Outcomes in North Carolina (MP3 - 169MB)

View Breakout III: Babies Born Healthy Initiative
Listen to Breakout III: Babies Born Healthy Initiative (MP3 - 158MB)

View the Closing Plenary Session
Listen to the Closing Plenary Session (MP3 - 114MB)

(Presentations require Adobe Flash Player and Adobe Acrobat Reader)

Summit Goals and Objectives

Goal: To improve birth outcomes and reduce infant mortality and prematurity in the United States.

Objective 1: Increase understanding of strategies to improve birth outcomes and infant mortality among Federal, State, and non-profit partners.

Objective 2: Create synergy among State Health Officials, Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Directors, and State partners to improve birth outcomes and reduce infant mortality through health and community systems development.

Objective 3: Identify clear strategies, outcomes and their impact on reducing infant mortality in the State with special consideration of high risk individuals, families, and communities.

Objective 4: Investigate the potential of one common strategy for States in the regions to reduce infant mortality and preterm birth.

Objective 5: Create a unified message that builds on the best practices from around the nation and the efforts from States in Regions IV and VI, which can be adopted by other States and Jurisdictions.

 

Additional Resources

Published Articles

Singh, G.K. and van Dyck, P.C. Infant Mortality in the United States, 1937-2007 (PDF).  Rockville, MD:  U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; 2010.  (HRSA 75th Anniversary Material)  

Presentation Resources

Lawler, M.H.  Title V of the Social Security Act Maternal and Child Health Infant Mortality Efforts (PPT).  Adapted from Presentation at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary’s Advisory Council on Infant Mortality Meeting; August 2011

Schempf, A.H. Infant Mortality: An Overview of Determinants and Prevention Opportunities for Regions IV and VI (PPT).  Presentation at the Region IV and Region VI ASTHO Meeting; May 2011
 

State Title V Maternal and Child Health Infant Mortality Efforts

Maternal and Child Health, Region IV Matrix. Use of Federal/National Resources to Reduce Infant Mortality (DOC).  Rockville, MD:  June 2011.

Health Resources and Services Administration, Maternal and Child Health Bureau.  Regions IV Priority Strategies to Reduce Infant Mortality:  A Working Draft Document (DOC).  Rockville: MD; December 2011. 

Title V Information System (TVIS) (Web-based system that serves as the Health Resources and Services Administration’s portal for the submission of the State Title V Maternal and Child Health Block Grant Applications/Annual Reports and five-year Needs Assessments, which electronically captures the data submitted by States, serves as a searchable database on key financial, program and performance/indicator data and provides State-by-State, Regional and National composite data). 
 

Pre-Summit Assessment Tool

Shepherd, R.A. Pre-Summit Tool:  Current State Policy and Program Strategies for Infant Mortality Reduction. Frankfort, KY: 2011.
 

Vital Statistics Data

Hamilton,B.E., Martin, J.A. and Ventura, S.J. Births: Preliminary Data for 2010 (PDF).  National Vital Statistics Reports Web Release, Vol. 60, No. 2, Hyattsville, MD:  National Center for Health Statistics; November 2011.  (CDC)

Martin, J.A., Hamilton, B.E., Ventura, S.J., Osterman, M.J.K., Kirmeyer, S., Matthews, T.J., and Wilson, E.C.  Births: Final Data for 2009 (PDF). National Vital Statistics Reports Web Release, Vol. 60, No. 1, Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics; November 2011.   (CDC)

Miniño, A.M., Murphy, S.L., Xu, J.Q., and Kochanek, K.D.  Deaths:  Final Data for 2008 (PDF).  National Vital Statistics Reports, Vol. 59, No. 10, Hyattsville, MD:  National Center for Health Statistics; December 2011.  (CDC)

Schempf, A.H., Infant Mortality Summit Data Resource Sheets for Regions IV and IV. Rockville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; 2012.