IV 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 260 

Supporting efforts to reduce infant mortality in the United States. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 18, 2009 

Mr. COHEN (for himself, Mr. MCGOVERN, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. 

BUTTERFIELD, Mr. MASSA, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, 

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin, Ms. DELAURO, Ms. 

EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. SARBANES, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, 

Ms. LEE of California, Ms. BORDALLO, Ms. EDWARDS of Maryland, and 

Mr. WAMP) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 

Committee on Energy and Commerce 

RESOLUTION 

Supporting efforts to reduce infant mortality in the United 

States. 

Whereas the infant mortality rate of a nation is a prime indicator of that nation’s overall health; 

Whereas the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 

have found that the United States ranked 29th in the 

world in infant mortality in 2004, falling from 12th in 

1960; 

Whereas there are more than 28,000 deaths to children 

under 1 year of age each year in the United States; 

Whereas preterm birth has a considerable impact on the 

United States infant mortality rate, in 2005, 68.6 perVerDate Nov 24 2008 02:43 Mar 19, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR260.IH HR260

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•HRES 260 IH 

cent of all infant deaths occurred to preterm infants, up 

from 65.6 percent in 2000; 

Whereas the United States infant mortality rate for non-Hispanic Black women was 2.4 times the rate for non-Hispanic White women in 2005; 

Whereas in 2005, the United States infant mortality rates 

were above average for non-Hispanic Black women at 

13.63 deaths per 1,000 live births, for Puerto Rican 

women at 8.30 deaths per 1,000 live births, and for 

American Indian or Alaska Native women at 8.06 deaths 

per 1,000 live births; 

Whereas in Memphis, Tennessee, the infant mortality rate is 

three times higher than that of the United States (higher 

than any other city in the country), and the 2005 infant 

mortality rate in the 38108 zip code of Memphis was 

deadlier for babies than that of the countries of Vietnam, 

Iran, and El Salvador with 31 deaths per 1,000 live 

births, 5 times that of the 2005 national average of 6.86 

deaths per 1,000 live births; 

Whereas adequate prenatal care has a studied, positive effect 

on the health of the baby; 

Whereas prenatal care is one of the most important interventions for ensuring the health of pregnant women and 

their infants; 

Whereas 29 percent of mothers 15 to 19 years of age received no early prenatal care in 2004 according to the 

Department of Health and Human Services; 

Whereas non-Hispanic Black mothers were 2.6 times more 

likely than non-Hispanic White mothers to begin prenatal 

care in the 3rd trimester, or not receive prenatal care at 

all; 


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Whereas babies born to mothers who received no prenatal 

care are three times more likely to be born at low birth 

weight, and five times more likely to die, than those 

whose mothers received prenatal care, as stated by the 

Department of Health and Human Services; 

Whereas the United States 2004 ranking of 29th in the world 

for infant mortality rates is due in part to racial disparities in prenatal treatment; and 

Whereas the racial disparities in infant mortality may relate 

to socioeconomic status, access to medical care, and the 

education level of the mother: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) acknowledges that the United States has a 

3 disturbingly high infant mortality rate in relation to 

4 the global community; 

5 (2) supports efforts to lower the rate of infant 

6 mortality in the United States; and 

7 (3) supports efforts to correct the racial dis8 parities in prenatal care to lower the infant mor9 tality rate in the United States. 

Æ 


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