10 O'Clock News | [Infant mortality and poverty]

Dr. Howard Spivak

[Infant mortality and poverty]
Original Airdate: 12/12/1989

Length: 00:03:20
Item Type: newstape - edited story master

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Full Description

1:00:01
Visual: Shots of an infant in a neo-natal intensive care unit; of an infant in an incubator being wheeled through the corridors of a hospital.

Hope Kelly reports that infant mortality refers to any infant who dies within the first year of life; that the infant mortality rate among the minority population in Massachusetts is high. Kelly reports that the infant mortality rate for white babies is 7.1 per 1,000 births; that the infant mortality rate for African American babies is 17.2 per 1,000 births. Kelly notes that the infant mortality rate for white babies in Boston is 8.1 per 1,000 births; that the infant mortality rate for African American babies in Boston is 24.4 per 1,000 births. Kelly reports that the infant mortality rate has increased since last year.

V: On-screen text and visuals detail the statistics of the infant mortality rate in Massachusetts. Footage of David Mulligan (Commissioner of Public Health) saying that there the infant mortality rate signals a wide discrepancy between the white community and the African American community.

Kelly reports that two out of every three infant deaths in Boston are African American infants; that African Americans make up less than one-quarter of the city's population.

V: Footage of Howard Spivak (Deputy Commissioner of Public Health) saying that infant mortality rates are high across the nation; that Massachusetts has one of the lowest infant mortality rates in the nation. Shot of a woman dressing a baby in an examination room of a health clinic.

Kelly reports that Massachusetts has already implemented pre-natal care programs for all pregnant women.

V: Footage of Judith Kurland (Commissioner, Boston Health and Hospitals) saying that these programs are good; that the programs do not always reach the women who need the most help. Kurland says that there are women who do not know that help is available.

Kelly reports that Kurland runs the health department of the city of Boston. Kelly reports that one out of four newborns at Boston City Hospital will spend time in the intensive care nursery. Kelly notes that the mothers of these children often receive inadequate pre-natal care.

V: Shot of an infant in the intensive care nursery. Shot of a health care worker tending to an infant in a hospital nursery. The health care worker takes a measurement and refers to a gauge.

Kelly reports that Kurland does not think that the pre-natal care programs in Massachusetts are adequate.

V: Footage of Kurland saying that the programs need to reach women in housing projects and on street corners. Shot of health care workers tending to an infant in a hospital nursery. The workers look at an image on a computer monitor. The infant is hooked up to medical equipment.

Kelly reports that Kurland is proposing a radical expansion of health care. Kelly notes that outreach is necessary in order to help at-risk women.

V: Footage of Kurland saying that there has been an increase in poverty during the past eight years; that increases in poverty are linked to increases in infant mortality.

Kelly reports that teenage pregnancy is on the rise in Massachusetts. Kelly reports that 88,047 babies were born to teenage mothers in Massachusetts in 1988; that 84,343 babies were born to teenage mothers in Massachusetts in 1987. Kelly notes that the teenage birthrate has increased 22% since 1980.

V: Shot of a young woman and a baby at the window of an apartment building. On-screen text and visuals detail statistics about teen pregnancy in Massachusetts. Shot of Dr. Graunke (pediatrician), a woman, and a baby in an examination room at the Codman Square Health Center. The woman puts the child on the examination table.

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