Gynecology & Obstetrics

Biography

Biography: Mouhanad Hammami

Abstract

Abstract : More babies die before their first birthdays in Wayne County and the city of Detroit than in many parts of the United States and the World. Sadly, the infant mortality rate in this region has been extremely high for several decades. This is unacceptable. It inflicts tragedy on families and costs billions of dollars in medical care. In addition, the infant mortality rate, the number of babies per 1,000 live births who die within the first year of life is an important indicator of a community’s health. In addition to overall high infant mortality rates, racial disparities also exist. Black babies in Wayne County and Detroit are more than twice as likely to die before their first birthdays as white babies. In Wayne County (excluding Detroit), the Infant Mortality Rate is 11.9 deaths per 1,000 live births for black babies (the same as some Third World Countries) and 5.9 deaths per 1,000 births for white babies (2008), according to the Michigan Department of Community Health. The rates in Detroit are even higher: 13.4 deaths per 1,000 births for black babies and 5.4 deaths per 1,000 births for white babies for the same year. Addressing the social determinants of health which are the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age is important to understand how these factors contribute to infant mortality rates. These circumstances are shaped by the distribution of money, power and resources at global, national and local levels, which are themselves influenced, by policy choices. The social determinants of health are mostly responsible for health inequities - the unfair and avoidable differences in health status seen within and between countries. These factors include where a girl or woman lives and goes to school, what she eats, how she’s perceived and treated, whether she has a good job with equal pay, the quality of her relationships, and the extent to which she’s affected by racism. An “upstream” strategy is a radical departure from the traditional, “downstream” methods that have been tried for decades but have had limited and sporadic results. Traditional downstream interventions may be too little, and too late. rn