- FILED UNDER
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KTHV) -- Nearly every day in Arkansas a baby dies. But there is a glimmer of hope in the tragedies. A group of ladies with hearts afire want to help.
Those heroes are graduate members of African American sororities. They are working with the state department of health forming an effort to curb Arkansas' high infant mortality rate. They are, Sisters United.
"Not only is this a tragedy for the family on an individual level, it also impacts the community harder than any other situation." The stats don't look good for infant mortality. Dr. Michelle Smith with the Arkansas department of health says everyday in Arkansas a baby dies before their first birthday and she says African American babies are twice as likely to die before turning two. "The Arkansas department of health wants to reverse this trend so we partnered with sororities." Those sororities are Alpha Kappa Alpha, Delta Sigma Theta, Sigma Gamma Rho and Zeta Phi Theta. "They formed sisters united, and what they want to do is spread awareness about infant mortality in the African American community."
42 chapters are involved statewide. Smith plans to train the volunteers come fall.
One of them is Mercedes Alexander. "This gives us an opportunity to reach more people and help more women." The training will focus in on four main areas.
"One of the biggest focus areas is starting mothers on folic acid before they are even pregnant, I didn't realize how important that was." The other areas include; getting a flu shot during your pregnancy, breastfeeding and safe sleep practices. "They will take that information back to their sororities and hopefully implement their own programs and projects that will reach out into the communities where they reside."
Smith says, Sisters United is just now getting off the ground. They have a lot of work but one clear goal. "We want each child to celebrate day number 366, we want these children to live past their first birthday and beyond, and we want more people educated to see what they can do to increase the chances of that happening."
In all they plan to train 112 volunteers, during a six hour session.
"Not only is this a tragedy for the family on an individual level, it also impacts the community harder than any other situation." The stats don't look good for infant mortality. Dr. Michelle Smith with the Arkansas department of health says everyday in Arkansas a baby dies before their first birthday and she says African American babies are twice as likely to die before turning two. "The Arkansas department of health wants to reverse this trend so we partnered with sororities." Those sororities are Alpha Kappa Alpha, Delta Sigma Theta, Sigma Gamma Rho and Zeta Phi Theta. "They formed sisters united, and what they want to do is spread awareness about infant mortality in the African American community."
42 chapters are involved statewide. Smith plans to train the volunteers come fall.
One of them is Mercedes Alexander. "This gives us an opportunity to reach more people and help more women." The training will focus in on four main areas.
"One of the biggest focus areas is starting mothers on folic acid before they are even pregnant, I didn't realize how important that was." The other areas include; getting a flu shot during your pregnancy, breastfeeding and safe sleep practices. "They will take that information back to their sororities and hopefully implement their own programs and projects that will reach out into the communities where they reside."
Smith says, Sisters United is just now getting off the ground. They have a lot of work but one clear goal. "We want each child to celebrate day number 366, we want these children to live past their first birthday and beyond, and we want more people educated to see what they can do to increase the chances of that happening."
In all they plan to train 112 volunteers, during a six hour session.
If a blood clot blocks an artery, a blood vessel breaks, or any other rupture occurs causing an interruption in oxygen-rich blood flow to the brain, a stroke happens. Brain cells quickly die without access to oxygen. Hemorrhaging in the brain can damage valuable brain cells. The actions that take place during a stroke reflect what happens to the parts of the body that are connected to the damaged brain cells. For example, the dead or damaged brain cells may cause paralysis, slurred speech, and poor eyesight. In the effect of a stroke, the damage may be irreversible, with the outcome of a long-term disability. Some don’t survive them, as strokes can also be fatal. There are two common types of strokes; ischemic strokes are when oxygen-rich arteries supplying blood to the brain become blocked, whereas hemorrhagic strokes are when an artery in the brain ruptures or leaks blood, causing a pressure that damages the brain cells. Ischemic strokes are more common. High blood pressure and aneurysms may be precursors for hemorrhagic strokes.
