Experts: Racism a factor in infant deaths among Kane Co. blacks

Racism can be a contributing factor in explaining why black babies die more frequently than any other race in Kane County, health care professionals said Wednesday.

The number of infant deaths in Kane County is relatively low and in decline. Of the 40,438 babies delivered between 2000 and 2004, 241 babies 24 weeks or older died. The mystery for Kane County is why the majority of the deceased infants were black.

From 1999 to 2007, the infant mortality rate for blacks in the county has ranged from two to three times as high as the rate for white or Hispanic babies. Though the gap is slowly narrowing, the pace of the current trend shows it will take two generations - until about the year 2057 - for black babies to have the same chance at survival as their infant peers.

That's not good enough, said Paul Kuehnert, executive director of the Kane County Health Department.

"It's really just an unacceptable inequality in our community," Kuehnert said. "Infant mortality rates are something that public health, for a very long time, has looked at as a very basic indicator of the health of a community. It really raises questions about the social conditions in which people live, the economic conditions, housing, job opportunities, a whole array of issues."

Kuehnert joined about 25 health care professionals Wednesday at Sherman Hospital in Elgin for a brainstorming session about how to bridge the infant mortality gap faster. Some solutions included hospitals doing a better job of encouraging breast-feeding and teaching moms that prenatal care requires regular visits to a doctor, not just an occasional trip to the emergency room.

Other solutions could be as controversial as they are revolutionary.

All participants accepted racism as a contributing factor in that it's an actual, physical stressor that could result in premature delivery and low birth weights for babies with even the most successful black parents. That fact was demonstrated in a video detailing recent research at Chicago's Children's Memorial Hospital.

The solution to that is creating more cultural awareness activities to educate county residents of all ages about the similarities and differences of all races and ethnicities, attendees said.

Beyond race, attendees agreed schools must take a more active role in realizing teenagers are having sex. That active role includes having vending machines or avenues where teens can purchase condoms at school, said Janice Hill, who spoke on behalf of the multiracial group she teamed with for the brainstorming session.

"We can see that our kids are sexually active, so why not put the machines in there to allow our kids some protection?" said Hill, a Family Self-Sufficiency Specialist with the Housing Authority of Elgin.

Hill's group was also in favor of requiring schools to host mandatory meetings with parents when a pregnancy becomes known in school.

"We need awareness of parents that their children are sexually active," Hill said. "It should be mandatory in the schools, if young ladies come into school, and they are pregnant, there should be something in place to bring together the student and the father and the mother. And we need to eliminate the stigma and the way we treat young, single moms. We need to embrace them. We need to teach them. We need to let them know that they are not alone. Their self-esteem is being belittled and so they are not willing to ask for help. We have to reach out more to help some of our young people who are in this situation instead of trying to hide the situation."

The health department will host a second brainstorming session in Aurora next week.