In central Harlem, the infant mortality rate shot up from 11.4 infant deaths for every 1,000 live births in 1998 to 15.5 in 1999, a 35 percent increase. The population of central Harlem in the 1990 census was 87 percent African American and 10 percent Latino.

In the Fort Greene neighborhood of Brooklyn, the rate rose from 8.8 to 10.8 deaths per 1000 live births, a 25 percent jump. African Americans make up 47 percent of the population in Brooklyn Community 2, which encompasses Fort Greene, while the Latino population totals 17 percent. A total of 30 babies under the age of one died in central Harlem. Twenty-three died in Fort Greene.

Partly as a result of these increases, overall infant mortality in New York City rose from 6.8 to 6.9 from 1998 to 1999, after declining since the late 1980s. The citywide rate was 21.6 in 1970, before measures were taken by the city and federal governments to improve maternal and infant health care.

Services provided under the Healthy Start program include prenatal care, home nursing visits, and medical referrals. City officials say that in the late 1990s money for the program was not increased, while more locations providing the services were opened by the federal government. As a result, each location suffered an effective cut in funding.  
 
 
Front page (for this issue) | Home | Text-version home