Many social and economic forces are placing heavy burdens on families that overpower their ability to nurture their children. Nationally, nearly one-quarter of persons under 18 years of age are in poverty. The poor tend to be higher health risks. Families in poverty are typically more prone to higher incidences of failing health and higher infant mortality. Nearly 40,000 babies born in the United States die before their first year.
Black babies are twice as likely to die within the first year as white babies.
Low weight at birth is the leading factor contributing to the nation's dismal infant mortality record. Low birth-weight babies are 40 times more likely to die in the first month of life and five times more likely to die later in the first year than other babies. Women who do not receive routine care are approximately three times as likely to deliver low birth-weight infants as those who do. While most children in Kern County are born healthy and into nurturing homes, there remain far too many infants and the very young who, upon entering life, also enter into life-threatening conditions. In order to improve the health conditions of children, responsibility must be shared.