INDIANAPOLIS-With unanimous bipartisan support, the Indiana House today passed Senate Bill 408, containing a proposal by State Rep. Gail Riecken (D-Evansville) that will begin to fund solutions to decrease the high number of child fatalities in our state.
Riecken authored an amendment which included a new Infant Mortality Reduction Grant Fund in response to Indiana’s current ranking as fifth in the nation in child deaths, with the top two causes of infant mortality being babies born too small and too early.
“The amendment calls for the interest on the money in the Indiana Checkup Plan to be transferred to the new Infant Mortality Reduction Grant Fund,†said Riecken. “It also specifically states that the money in the newborn screening program cannot be transferred, assigned, or otherwise removed from the fund by the State Board of Finance or any other state agency, as has been done in the past.
“We need to support programs now, that work to reduce infant mortality rates,†Riecken continued. “Why should we wait another year when we already have funds available to transfer and save infant lives?â€
Riecken is concerned that though her proposal passed with unanimous support, it may be altered before it is signed into action by the Governor. Senate Bill 408 now returns to the Senate for concurrence with the changes made in the House.
“This is the time during a legislative session when bills are altered and certain language can be removed even once a bill passes,†said Riecken. “This is a time to rally and to show the importance of this language in order to provide funds now for programs that reduce infant mortality rates.â€
Riecken noted that of the 292 children in Indiana who died in 2011, substance abuse was found to be a factor in 43% of the cases. One study found that in cases of Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome, the infants are 19% more likely to have low birth rate and 30% more likely to have respiratory complications.
Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome refers to the effects in newborns that have been exposed to addictive illegal or prescription drugs while in the mother’s womb. These substances pass to the baby during pregnancy, resulting in the baby becoming addicted along with the mother.
“This amendment can provide funding through the form of grant proposals to qualifying programs such as campaigns that work to inform mothers about the serious risks of drug use during pregnancy,†said Riecken. “Methadone in particular can be passed from mothers to their children and there are reports of infant deaths in which methadone is passed through breastfeeding.
“We need to take action and fund these programs that educate and encourage mothers seeking alternative drug treatments, to seek medication other than methadone,†Riecken concluded.
