La Paz kicked off Infant Mortality Awareness Month with a baby shower to honor more than 15 new moms who are a part of its Promoters of Health program.
According to Tennessee Department of Health, Hamilton County had the second highest infant mortality rate in the state in 2008. From 2001-2005, non-Latino births fell 6% while Latino births rose 49% in Hamilton County. La Paz’s Promotores de Salud program works to lower the IMR among this growing Latino population, serving as permanent links between that community and health care providers.
According to La Paz officials, through the Promotores de Salud initiative, through the end of the second year, La Paz provided prenatal education and consultation to 145 clients. Of those clients, 90 successfully completed the program thus far, and all of these women birthed healthy babies. Also, of the 121 women who indicated they had been pregnant before, only a little over one in ten (11.6%) said they used a Health Clinic/Center to receive their prenatal care in that prior pregnancy. Of the 90 women who have completed the program thus far, over half (54.4%) indicated doing so in this pregnancy.
“Our emphasis is on both the mother and the child,” said Jessica Cliché, one of the two La Paz promotoras. “It’s like a cycle: if the mother receives the health care she needs during pregnancy, the likelihood of a healthy birth and child increases greatly, essentially creating a community of healthy children and families.”
Below are events to be held in honor of Infant Mortality Awareness Month:
-Sept. 1: Support Group*
-Sept. 13: Featuring the DVD, In the Womb/Prenatal Care
-Sept. 27: Car seat safety class with Carleena Angwin from Chattanooga/Hamilton Co. Health Dept.
-Sept. 29: Support Group*
*The "Bienvenido al hogar bebe" support group will meet twice a month to provide support for the new moms and build strong relationships with them.
For more information on La Paz or the Promotores de Salud program, call 624-8414.