County’s Infant Mortality Rate Raises Concerns

Infant mortality is at a staggering high in Orange County and threatens to worsen, physicians warned Tuesday at a symposium in Orange.

About 300 infants died before their first birthday in Orange County in 1987 (the most recent figures available), more than the number of people killed in car accidents here, according to a study by the March of Dimes, which sponsored the symposium at UCI Medical Center.

Although infant mortality can be linked to a variety of factors, lack of prenatal care was the most common, the doctors said. Officials from UC Irvine estimated that 40% of the babies with low birth weight or other defects were born to mothers who received no prenatal health care.

“Lack of information is, of course, one of the factors that contributes to this situation,” Dr. Manuel Porto said. For instance, he said, some illegal aliens fear that if they seek free prenatal help, they will be turned over to the Immigration and Naturalization Service.

But earlier this month, a bill authored by state Sen. Marian Bergeson (R-Newport Beach) was implemented which will increase the number of women eligible for state-paid maternity care. The bill raises the income ceiling for eligibility and speeds the application process. “Because of the high cost of living in California, many women don’t meet the federal guidelines for aid,” Bergeson said. “This bill is important to those women who often fall through the cracks.”

For every dollar spent on prenatal health care, two dollars could be saved on babies born with birth defects, she said.

Also cited at the symposium as reasons for high infant mortality rates were sexually transmitted diseases, AIDS and substance abuse during pregnancy.

In 1989, Orange County projects a 41% increase over last year in newborns showing positive drug tests, according to the March of Dimes study.

“No matter what the defect, the answer is early detection,” Porto said. “The problem a lot of the time is that women aren’t always able to visit their doctors until the latter months of pregnancy. By then, it is to late.”

Proto said he also worries that the decreasing number of hospitals accepting Med-Cal will exacerbate the problem.

“What will happen is they will have the assistance and maybe even a physician, but nowhere to deliver the baby,” Porto said. “Just one more problem to solve.”