Black Infant Mortality in D.C., Part Three: Where Do We Go From Here?
Birth workers, doulas, midwives, and social services providers in the city are working to lower the rate of Black infant death. And the Home Visiting Services Reimbursement Act of 2023, introduced in June by Ward 1 Councilmember Brianne Nadeau, and unanimously approved by the rest of the D.C. Council in January, aims to provide steady funding for an evidence-based home visiting program designed to improve infant health. But because the bill was passed “subject to appropriations,” it will take collaboration between the mayor and the Council during the upcoming budget season before its provisions can go into effect.
In the meantime, other programs offered by nonprofits and hospitals aim to reduce the infant death rate by focusing on implicit biases in maternal health care and supporting a postpartum care plan.
In the meantime, other programs offered by nonprofits and hospitals aim to reduce the infant death rate by focusing on implicit biases in maternal health care and supporting a postpartum care plan.