Julia Keoge, public health nurse for Nassau County, held an Infant Mortality Prevention workshop Aug. 23 at the Westbury Recreation Center. The workshop was part of a new outreach program initiated by the Nassau County Department of Health called the Infant Mortality Prevention Program. Its goal is to "bridge the gap of the infant mortality rates between black and white infants."

Currently, according to the Department of Health, the mortality rate for black infants in Nassau County is three times that of white and hispanic infants. The Infant Mortality Prevention Program, directed by Dana Lopez, targets nine communities in Nassau, each with a particularly high black infant mortality rate. Keoge and public health nurse Evelyn Watson head up the program in the Westbury and New Cassel areas.

The workshop focused on steps that could be taken in the pre-natal stage of pregnancy to prevent infant mortality (death of an infant from birth to one year of age). "There are some very simple preventative measures that can be taken," Kioge said. She noted that one such measure is getting enough of the vitamin folic acid, and that folic acid can reduce certain birth defects of the brain and spinal cord by more than 50 percent. Kioge also sought to make women aware of the many healthcare programs they could qualify for depending on their financial income. "We have to encourage women to use the facilities in their area, as well as in Nassau County," Watson said. "A lot of them don't go because they don't know."

In addition to holding the free workshop, Kioge and Watson are taking their message out onto the streets of Westbury and New Cassel. Watson regularly visits the local beauty parlors, laundromats, and supermarkets where she hangs flyers, hands out brochures, and reassures women that, first and foremost, they are not alone.

"If a woman feels isolated," Keoge said, "then she will sometimes let six or seven months go by before she seeks care. She thinks, 'I had another baby before, so I know what I am doing,' or 'They're not really going to help me,' or 'It doesn't make a difference if I go for healthcare or not.'" Both Kioge and Watson stressed that early and consistent pre-natal care is very important because during the first three months of fetal development, all the major organs of the body are formed.

Kioge made it clear that the Infant Mortality Prevention workshop was not just for pregnant women. "You can't isolate infant mortality and say it is a problem for women," she said. "It really has to be addressed across the board. Everyone has to become more aware, as employers, as husbands, as fathers, as grandparents. Everyone is responsible."

"We need the community to help us," Watson added, "because we can't do it alone."

For further information about the program or upcoming workshops contact Dana Lopez, director of the Infant Mortality Prevention Program, 572-0936.