New Law Aims To Help More Hoosier Babies Reach First Birthday

Thursday, May 9, 2019 at 8:19 AM

By Mike Perleberg @mikedup84

Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb signed the perinatal care bill into law Wednesday.

(Indianapolis, Ind.) - A new Indiana law could help reduce the state’s high infant mortality rate.

“There are few — if any — things more important than protecting Hoosier babies and improving the lives and health of their mothers,” Governor Eric Holcomb said Wednesday.

The new law, House Enrolled Act 1007, signed by Holcomb puts two new initiatives in place. One is to create a navigator program to guide high-risk pregnant women.

Another program will verbally screen all expecting mothers for substance use disorders so they can be connected to treatment.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, Indiana had the seventh-highest infant mortality rate in the nation at 7.3 infant deaths per 1,000 live births in 2017. That amounts to about 600 children before their first birthday.

The governor wants Indiana to have the lowest infant mortality rate in the Midwest by 2024.

“Today we’re putting new tools in place to make sure more babies reach their first birthdays and more moms get connected to the treatment they need,” said Holcomb.

HEA 1007 had passed the Indiana House and Senate with unanimous support during the 2019 legislative session.

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