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Healthy Birth Outcomes:
Eliminating Racial and Ethnic Disparities

Elimination of health disparities constitutes an overarching goal of the state health plans, Healthiest Wisconsin 2010 and Healthiest Wisconsin 2020. Perhaps the most disturbing health disparity in Wisconsin is the persistent high death rate of infants born to African American women. Infants born to African American women in Wisconsin have been 3-4 times more likely to die before their first birthday than infants born to white women. Further, during the past 20 years, virtually no decline has occurred in Wisconsin’s African American infant mortality rate. Compared to white infant mortality, disparities also exist among American Indian, Laotion and Hmong, and Hispanic/Latino populations, although these disparities are smaller than those of African Americans.

This site will be updated as this initiative progresses. Check back often for information for health care providers, researchers and the public on how to achieve healthy births for all Wisconsin families.

Spotlight

Wisconsin Infant Mortality Background and Related Efforts (Selected) (April 2013) (PDF, 569 KB)

What Moms Tell Us: Unintended Pregnancy (March 2013) (PDF, 450 KB)

Region V Infant Mortality Summit 2013

State Health Officials Focus on Reducing Prematurity and Infant Mortality - April is Minority Health Month (Wisconsin Department of Health Services, April 10, 2013)

Opinion: Reduce Poverty to Improve Overall Health (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, April 4, 2013)

Reducing the Risk of Sleep-Related Infant Death (PDF, 82 KB) (updated February 2013)

Helping Pregnant Smokers Quit Gives Kids a Healthy Start (fact sheet) (exit DHS; PDF, 308 KB).

Milwaukee-centered research: "You Learn to Go Last": Perceptions of Prenatal Care Experiences among African-American Women with Limited Incomes (exit DHS).

Meeting Evaluation Results - Nov. 16, 2011 (PDF, 28 KB) - Joint meeting of the Wisconsin Healthiest Women Initiative and the Statewide Advisory Committee on Eliminating Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Birth Outcomes.

Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Infant Mortality (fact sheet) (PDF, 69 KB) (updated November 2012)

Final report of the Partnership to Eliminate Disparities in Infant Mortality, including the work of Wisconsin's team on the role of men and racism in Milwaukee: Taking the First Steps: Experiences of Six Community/State Teams Addressing Racism's Impacts on Infant Mortality (exit DHS; PDF, 8.94 MB)

Infant Mortality Summit 2012: Social Determinants (June 6, 2012) (exit DHS)

Join the Women 2 Women 4 Healthy Babies (exit DHS) video sharing campaign on Facebook. View a video (exit DHS).

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel "Empty Cradles" 2011 series on infant mortality: