Q&A with Members of the Healthy Moms - Healthy Babies - Healthy Community Initiative (H3):Pastor Ralph Emerson - H3 Chairperson & Pastor of Rising Star Baptist Church
Loretta Burns - H3 Co-Chair & Community Engagement Coordinator for Morningside Children's Partnership
Marcy Paul - H3 Project Manager & Instructor for UNTHSC School of Public Health
Gala Stafford - H3 Community Action Team Member for H3 & Parent Liaison for Young Man's Leadership Academy and
Dunbar Middle School
According to
Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price, infant mortality, the death of a baby before their first birthday, is one of the top health issues facing the City of Fort Worth.
H3 is led by a Community Oversight Board that includes community members and clergy from the local faith community; service agencies including the Boys & Girls Clubs and March of Dimes; members representing education, health and health care; and city, county, and state legislators.
Tell us a little about H3, the Healthy Moms - Healthy Babies - Healthy Community Initiative?The Healthy Moms - Healthy Babies - Healthy Community Initiative was created in 2011to reduce the infant mortality rate in Tarrant County, especially among the African-American communities, by engaging individuals and communities to build a healthier Tarrant County.
Our mayor shared this on her
blog last summer, "According to the UNT Health Science Center, the United States has a target goal for the year 2020 of no more than six infant deaths per 1,000 live births. Currently, Fort Worth is sitting at a little over eight infant deaths per 1,000 live births, and African Americans in Tarrant County have an infant mortality rate of over 12 deaths per 1,000 live births."
H3 has conducted focus groups and community forums and is now working on implementation of a strategic plan aimed at reducing infant mortality in the most affected Fort Worth zip codes.
This is a true grassroots action-oriented partnership. Our committee includes members who live in neighborhoods most affected. These residents are learning and sharing information about infant mortality, investing personally to educate the community about infant mortality - and how to prevent it.
What factors do you see contributing to the infant mortality rate? Babies die from a wide range of causes and we often see three main causes: premature birth weight, sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) as well as birth defects.
And, we believe that prenatal programs and resources that promote a healthy lifestyle will further contribute to a healthier community. We're working hard to help families see a "life course perspective," meaning, how they live their lives from womb to grave.
Mothers' Milk Bank of North Texas Executive Director Amy Vickers shares how breastfeeding affects infant mortality's three contributing factors: premature birth weight, SIDS and birth defects. As the rate of preterm births rise, so does the infant mortality rate. This is because premature infants are born small and vulnerable to many diseases and complications.
Any baby that faces medical challenges, and especially our most fragile babies,
benefit from breastmilk.
Breastfeeding is known to protect and prevent serious illnesses, and it reduces the incidence of SIDS. For premature babies this is vitally important. Breastmilk increases a premature baby's ability to survive and avoid complications.
And, when a
mom's own milk hasn't come in yet or she isn't producing enough for her baby, then neonatologists will prescribe donor human milk from milk banks like the
Mothers' Milk Bank of North Texas. To become involved in H3, email Marcy Paul at
infant.mortality@unthsc.edu.
We are so thankful to the Roger Williams Chrysler Dodge Jeep RAM Dealership for making an in-kind donation by partially underwriting the purchase of our new minivan. 
I am an older first time mother and my son is now 18 months-old. Breastfeeding did not come easy to us in the beginning. It was very painful for me and I became stressed, making my milk supply dwindle. 
I regard breastfeeding my son and donating milk two of the most rewarding and significant things I have ever done in my life. I feel that sharing my son's milk is the first philanthropic thing he and I did together. I cannot wait to tell him the story about his contribution and to teach him the value of giving to others. 
Donating to the Mothers' Milk Bank of North Texas motivated me to keep my supply up, even on the days I felt lazy or that my supply could be diminished from apathy. I was able to donate 239 ounces. Being a part of something so great helped to spur us on through the hard times.