African American infants in Wake County are twice as likely to die in the first 12 months of life as babies born to moms of other races. Wake County can – and will – do better. Our children deserve it.

We’ve created the Infant Mortality Workgroup, dedicated to uncovering why this disparity in Wake County’s African American communities exists and what we can do to together to close the gap.

 

The goal is to see healthy babies thrive in Wake County, no matter their race or ZIP code. Follow along with us.

Your Story

Have you experienced the loss of an infant? Know someone who has? Your story may give insight to help our team find the root causes of this gap in our community.

Tell us your story
*Please note that we cannot guarantee confidentiality due to N.C. public records law. If you’d like to share your story confidentially, please call us at 919-215-1802.

Workgroup Kick Off

The Infant Mortality Workgroup kicked off on Sept. 25, 2019. Comprising of the Wake County Board of Commissioners chair, mothers who have experienced infant loss, Wake County Health & Human Services staff, and community health partners and leaders, this group worked together for six months to find a solution on closing this gap in the African American community.

During that time, the group took a deep look at data on infant mortality in Wake County and the social determinants of health, such as housing, transportation and income to determine how to improve the root causes of the issue.

Findings on infant mortality in Wake County

Data

View the 2017 Child Fatalities in Wake County presentation, the latest year for which analyzed data is available.