Congressman Cohen's Statement on 20/20 Special on Memphis Infant Mortality Rate

Tonight, ABC’s 20/20 will report on the high infant morality rate in Memphis, a story that needs to be told. According to their research, a baby dies in our city on average every 43 hours. The extremely high incidence of infant death in the African-American community is particularly troubling. It is this alarming reality that motivates me, and must motivate us all, to action. These statistics are deeply saddening and show that there is much left to be done to guarantee that women have access to adequate prenatal and postnatal care. We also must take steps in Congress to ensure that new parents are educated on proper nutritional and health guidelines for young children.

The people of Memphis cannot bear to watch hundreds of babies buried each year, which is why I have taken steps to address this enormous problem in my capacity as Representative for the 9th District of Tennessee. In October of last year, I hosted a Capitol Hill briefing on infant mortality, featuring research and medical professionals from Tennessee and across the nation who gathered to discuss this troubling issue. Brian Dobbins and Dr. Ramasubbareddy Dhanireddy from The MED and Erin Do and Jessica Gibson from the State of Tennessee Comptroller’s Office met with me in my Washington, DC office and provided different perspectives on the alarmingly high rate of infant mortality in Memphis and what must be done to lower it. Since then, I have worked with nurses, nurse-midwives and other medical professionals to discover ways in which Congress can address this issue.

In Memphis, and in communities across the nation, people are searching for solutions to this crisis. During the briefing, we learned about the DC Family Health and Birth Center (DCFHBC), which has become a model for freestanding birth centers across the nation and helped to decrease infant mortality rates in Washington, DC. Ruth Watson Lubic, a nurse-midwife and applied anthropologist who attended our briefing, helped found the center, which is the first of its kind to offer continuous, uninterrupted care for women and their families during the important childbearing and early child-rearing years. I believe that centers like the DCFHBC would have a very positive impact in Memphis, as well.

The infant mortality rate in Memphis is unacceptable to me and to the people of the 9th District; however, I am encouraged by improvements that have been made over the past few years. This is not apparently reflected in tonight’s broadcast, which is unfortunate. Nonetheless, I will continue to work with local health care providers and professional associations to improve health care for all of our citizens and save precious lives in our city.

I want to thank Craig Leake, the award-winning documentary producer from Memphis, for shedding light on this important story. I also want to recognize the dedicated staff and volunteers at Oasis of Hope in Memphis. Their work in North Memphis is an inspiration to us all and a reminder of the goodness of the human spirit.

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Marilyn Dillihay, Press Secretary, 202-225-3265
Charlie Gerber, Communications Assistant, 202-225-3265