KALAMAZOO (WKZO AM/FM) –Kalamazoo County has had an abnormally high infant mortality rate for decades that at one time rivaled those in third world nations. Now an effort to reverse that disparity has a helpline.
Several programs have been tried and they have all had varying degrees of success, but the rate of infant mortality among the minority population has remained disproportionately high.
Currently the number of minority babies who die before they make it to their first birthday is four times higher than whites.
That’s regardless of the income demographic they come from.
It’s led local experts who have been battling the issue to suspect that there is something discriminatory taking place in the way pregnant black women are treated. Now over two dozen organizations are working together, focusing on this disparity, with the leadership of the YWCA and CEO Grace Lubwama.
The effort is called Cradle Kalamazoo, and they have just introduced a hotline for pregnant women to call for information and assistance.
The number to call is 269-888-KIDS which connects to a healthcare specialist at Gryphon Place who can help the patient with contacts, help them figure out what programs they are eligible for and help them get the help they need, through a coordinated streamlined triage.
