Infant deaths high among blacks

Wednesday, Dec. 12, 2001 | 10:37 a.m.

Black women in Nevada are three times more likely to live in poverty than white women and have an infant mortality rate twice as high, a new study by the National Women's Law Center shows.

More than 25 percent of black women in Nevada live in poverty, compared with 8.5 percent of white women, said Elena Cohen of the Law Center and one of the report's authors.

The infant mortality rate for black women in Nevada was 13 out of every 1,000 births. For white women, the rate was six infant deaths for every live birth.

Nevada's figures for black women paralleled findings nationwide, Cohen said.

"There has not been extensive outreach to the African-American community, and the disparity between ethnic groups persists," Cohen said this morning. "One of the things we're hoping for is that Nevada officials will undertake specific targeting to address these serious problems."

Kathleen Boutin, social programs coordinator for the Clark County Health District, said the report's findings are distressing but far from surprising. Low birth weight is a leading indicator for infants that don't survive past their first birthday, Boutin said. The Health District's Baby Find program, an outreach program dedicated to reducing low birth weights, focuses primarily on black women, Boutin said.

County research has shown the leading cause of low birth weight isn't tobacco or alcohol during pregnancy but inadequate nutrition, Boutin said. Many poor neighborhoods don't have grocery stores, which means women are forced to shop at convenience and corner stores, Boutin said.

"Women take their food stamps to the mom and pop store where there's no meat, and no fresh fruit or vegetables," Boutin said.

Boutin said the Baby Find program has been successful but more outreach is badly needed.

"We need more community participation," Boutin said. "We need more neighborhood health care services and more people to help us spread the word."

The National Women's Law Center report, released Tuesday, ranked Nevada 38th in the nation for women's health care overall. Nevada women had the highest rate in the country of lung cancer deaths, the report found. Nevada received a failing grade for its lack of prenatal care, annual dental visits and percentage of women with high blood pressure. Too many Nevada women are overweight, smoke and are binge drinkers, the report found.

Wisconsin, Nevada, Georgia and North Dakota fell the farthest in the rankings from the organization's first study conducted last year, said Dr. Michelle Berlin of the Oregon Health and Science University. Nevada slipped eight spots from its 30th place ranking.

"Particularly important are women's access to health insurance, prevention activities, and living in a healthy community," said Berlin, one of the study's authors. "There has been minimal, if any, progress in these areas."

Nevada has the nation's most women smokers, a fact that the Las Vegas office of the American Heart Association has been battling against, said spokeswoman Robin Camacho.

The heart association has held several conferences focusing on women's health issues but the events haven't been well-attended, Camacho said.

"Part of the problem is women tend to put their families first and don't pay attention to their own health," Camacho said. "They are the caretakers."

Other report findings include:

* Black women in Nevada were more likely to die of heart disease or stroke than white women.

* Hispanic women in Nevada were nearly twice as likely to live in poverty as white women.

* The stroke rate for Hispanic women in Nevada was less than half the rate for white women and a third of the rate for black women.

The National Women's Law Center (www.nwlc.org) is an advocacy organization for women and girls.