Ebenezer Church of God in Christ supports hundreds of mothers to counter city's infant mortality rates
More than 300 pregnant women and new mothers have sought support at Ebenezer Church of God in Christ through its Blanket of Love program. All of their children lived to see their first birthday.
Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett called the church's work one of the leaders in the city for improving the city's infant mortality rate during a visit Sunday. Barrett visited two churches Sunday to mark Milwaukee's 8th annual Strong Baby Sabbath, a day of raising awareness of the preventable causes of infant death.
Last year in Milwaukee, slightly more than 12 babies died for every 1,000 live births in the city. The rate for black babies is three times higher than for white children.
Barrett called the racial disparity unacceptable. Barrett and Health Commissioner Jeanette Kowalik called on faith leaders in Milwaukee to help with the city's effort at an event last week.
"The churches are really something special because they can be much more involved in a mother's life and it's a community — it's having somebody there," Barrett said. "The church can provide that and the government can't do that."
The city's goal is to lower the infant mortality rate to less than 12 per 1,000.
More than 30 churches have become "Strong Baby Sanctuaries," sites where pregnant women are connected to community resources such as Ebenezer's Blanket of Love. The effort is co-sponsored by Ascension Wisconsin.
Julia Means, a parish nurse at Ebenezer through Ascension, runs the church's Blanket of Love program for pregnant women and new mothers. The program wraps support and education around mothers to help with their child and other needs such as finding housing and domestic issues.
"We know that support, love and encouragement help," Means said. She wants to add five more churches to the Strong Baby Sanctuary program this year.
"A lot of times they don't know what to do," Means said. "In our community, people feel safe coming to the church for help."