UC Health Continues the Fight Against Infant Deaths

Photo: Julie Bell, UC Health Clinical Team Lead for Women’s Health Services at The University Of Cincinnati Medical Center speaks to WKRC Liz Bonis about infant mortality rates.

Some parts of Cincinnati suffer from infant mortality rates higher than third-world countries. In the United States alone these rates are more than twice the national average.

Collaboration between several health systems which comprise Cradle Cincinnati has been vital in reducing these rates. UC Health and the UC College of Nursing are part of the Cradle Cincinnati initiative.  Recent statistics from Cradle Cincinnati show Hamilton County has seen 48 fewer infant deaths in the past three years, a 15% decline compared to the three years prior.

Nationally, the top causes of infant death are premature birth and birth defects. While the root causes of both are sometimes unknown, risk factors include smoking during pregnancy, obesity and lack of access to healthcare.   Sudden Unexpected Infant Death Syndrome is another top cause of infant death.  It is often the result of unsafe sleeping conditions for the baby.  Safe sleeping conditions for a baby include sleeping alone, on its back and in a crib.

Resources available at UC Health include these topics and more through Centering Pregnancy, an educational outreach program for moms to be in the community. Fathers are also encouraged to participate and the course is free.

Centering Pregnancy is an innovative approach to caring for pregnant women that was developed at Yale University in the 1990’s. Based on a group model of care, Centering Pregnancy places equal emphasis on the emotional and physical components of pregnancy. Prenatal care is taken out of the exam room and into a large classroom where women come together in groups of 8 to 12 for their care. Each group is comprised of women who are all due within four weeks of each other. In this group setting, women have the opportunity to learn more about healthy pregnancy and birth, while helping and supporting each other.

Each prenatal care session is 2 hours in length, rather than the traditional 15 minute prenatal visit. Monitoring blood pressure, weight, urine testing and listening to the baby’s heartbeat are done at the beginning of each session. The difference with Centering Pregnancy is that in the remaining 90 minutes there is time to learn about pregnancy and parenting while developing a strong social network. Each session has a particular focus such as: nutrition, fetal development, breast feeding, labor, birth, post-partum and parenting.

Patients are encouraged to share experiences, ask questions and contribute information. Some sessions will include guests such as a nutritionist or lactation consultant or videos about a particular topic. The role of the leader is to facilitate communication and interaction among the members of the group, encouraging women to find answers and strength in one another. The goal of Centering is to empower women with the skills needed to have healthy pregnancies.

UC Health has been recognized nationally as a Baby Friendly designation developed by UNICEF and the World Health Organization. To receive this designation, UC Health had to meet strict criteria and provide education to expectant or new moms on the benefits of breastfeeding. These benefits have been recognized as one of the  contributing factors in helping to reduce the rates of infant mortality.  We offer lactation consultants who provide breast feeding education and bedside lactation support. UC Health also has a 24/7 lactation hotline should a lactating mom need help or support.

If you are interested in or learning more about Centering Pregnancy, or wish to schedule an appointment for prenatal or gynecological care, call the Center for Women’s Health at 584-LADY.