Several leaders in DeKalb County gathered Friday to discuss maternal and infant mortality, which the county health board called a “significant problem.”
The rate of infant morality — the death of a baby less than 1 year old — was about six out of every 1,000 live births for DeKalb County from 2008 to 2012, according to a statement from the DeKalb County Board of Health.
However, that rate varies in different areas of the county; Decatur’s infant morality rate for 2012 was four out of every 1,000 babies, while eastern DeKalb’s rate ranged from nine to 12, the Board of Health said.
Infant mortality also disproportionately affects African-American families in the county.
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The Board of Health’s first Maternal and Infant Mortality Conference on Friday aimed to address these disparities. The conference was set to feature Judge Glenda Hatchett, a well-known TV judge, and several experts in the field.
Hatchett will share her family’s experience, while DeKalb County District 3 Commissioner Larry Johnson “will discuss how individuals, community organizations and government agencies can work together to reduce the rates of maternal and infant deaths,” the Board of Health said.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported last year that Georgia continues to rank as the worst state in the country for maternal mortality.
There was an “overwhelming response” and interest in the conference, the health board said.
Other speakers include Carolyn B. Aidman, the associate director of the Urban Health Initiative at the Emory School of Medicine; S. Elizabeth Ford, the district health director for the county; and Amy Patterson, a professor at Agnes Scott College.
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