Infant mortality refers to the death of a baby before its first birthday. The United States ranks 23rd among industrialized nations in the world in infant mortality. The medical and social costs for low birthweight and very low birthweight babies are significant. Low birthweight is a major predictor of infant mortality.
Racial disparities occur both in health status and health care throughout the country.
The goal of Healthy Start is to reduce these disparities, especially among pregnant and postpartum women and their infants. The National Healthy Start Association believes that the Healthy Start program offers the best models for the reduction of infant mortality, low birthweight and racial disparities in perinatal outcomes. This model emphasizes both the importance of community-based approaches to solving these problems, and the need to develop comprehensive, holistic interventions that include health, social and economic services. Each Healthy Start project is mandated to develop a local consortium composed of neighborhood residents, medical providers, social service agencies, faith-based representatives and the business community. This consortium guides and oversees the design and implementation of the local Healthy Start project.