Improving the health and well being of infants, children, women, and families is an important goal to Healthy People 2020. To achieve this goal, Healthy People 2020 has identified numerous objectives that target a variety of health conditions affecting the health of mothers, infants, and children. Objective MICH-1.3 focuses on reducing the death rates of infants less than a year of age. Healthy People 2020 has deemed MICH-1.3 important because it reflects on the health and well-being of not only the mother, but also the nation. In 2006, 6.7 infant deaths per 1,000 live births occurred within the first year of life, which is Health People’s current baseline for this objective. Based on a 10% improvement, the target is 6.0 infant deaths per
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Mothers who do not attend prenatal care are more likely to give birth to a baby with a low-birth-weight than those who do attend prenatal check ups. These babies are also more likely to die. Programs like Healthy Start, Medicaid, and SCHIP, are available, all of which increase a mother’s accessibility to prenatal and infant care. Healthy Start enhances the availability and accessibility of prenatal health care to areas that have infant mortality rates higher than average. As a social health care program for families and individuals with low income, Medicaid provides access to prenatal care for mothers who qualify and health care for their infants. For those whose incomes are too high for Medicaid, but too low for private coverage, SCHIP covers the expenses of prenatal and infant health …show more content…
Previous discoveries have proven to be effective in the prevention of infant deaths. For instance, with the development of surfactant, the death of premature infants from respiratory distress syndrome has decreased. Also, the discovery of antenatal corticosteroid treatments to avoid premature labor and aid in fetal lung maturation has reduced the amount of infants dying from premature birth, respiratory distress syndrome, and internal hemorrhage. Supporting research would create new ways to prevent infant death from conditions that do not have a current
Mothers who do not attend prenatal care are more likely to give birth to a baby with a low-birth-weight than those who do attend prenatal check ups. These babies are also more likely to die. Programs like Healthy Start, Medicaid, and SCHIP, are available, all of which increase a mother’s accessibility to prenatal and infant care. Healthy Start enhances the availability and accessibility of prenatal health care to areas that have infant mortality rates higher than average. As a social health care program for families and individuals with low income, Medicaid provides access to prenatal care for mothers who qualify and health care for their infants. For those whose incomes are too high for Medicaid, but too low for private coverage, SCHIP covers the expenses of prenatal and infant health …show more content…
Previous discoveries have proven to be effective in the prevention of infant deaths. For instance, with the development of surfactant, the death of premature infants from respiratory distress syndrome has decreased. Also, the discovery of antenatal corticosteroid treatments to avoid premature labor and aid in fetal lung maturation has reduced the amount of infants dying from premature birth, respiratory distress syndrome, and internal hemorrhage. Supporting research would create new ways to prevent infant death from conditions that do not have a current