Babies are like bits of stardust, blown from the hand of God.
--unknown author
The death of an infant is not a normal event.
Having a
baby is a time of joy, love, and excitement because you are creating a new life to
bring into this world. The birth of a
child is a celebratory event, a new beginning.
But some
infants die before their first birthday.
Infant
mortality rate is the number of infant (aged under 1 year) deaths per 1,000
live births in a specified group. On August 21, 2020, Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention released a report called Infant Mortality by Maternal
Prepregnancy Body Mass Index: 2017-2018.
According to the report’s authors*, “Generally,
infant mortality increased as maternal BMI increased from the normal through
obese weight categories.” The authors
summarized the study’s findings with this statement, “Nonoptimal BMI before
pregnancy has implications for infant and maternal health, given the potential
for adverse health outcomes for both women and infants.” They found a direct relationship between
maternal weight and infant mortality.
This study is an important reason that with the decision to become
pregnant comes the reality of how connected being at a healthy weight is to the
health of the baby. Knowing that the
more overweight or obese a woman (or girl) is when she is pregnant is directly
related to an increased chance that the infant may die before the age of 1 is a
reality that should, ideally, be part of pre-pregnancy counseling for all reproductive
age women.
*The study
authors are Danielle M. Ely, Ph.D., Elizabeth C.W. Gregory, M.P.H., and Patrick
Drake, M.S. This National Center for Health Statistics report can be downloaded
from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
With love,
Nancy
Heinrich, MPH
Founder and
Wellness Architect
Growing
Healthy Kids, Inc.
