Pregnancies are frequently unexpected in Cincinnati

September is Infant Mortality Awareness Month. Throughout the month, our Executive Director, will be highlighting some of the changes coming under Cradle Cincinnati’s new strategic plan. According to a recent survey, 41% of new moms in Hamilton County were not trying to conceive when they got pregnant with their most recent baby. That means that nearly half of all local pregnancies were not expected by the family. It is of course true that an unexpected pregnancy will mean different things to different families. For some, it will be a welcome surprise. Others might see it as just a bit of mistiming. And, we know that some unexpected pregnancies cause a great deal of worry and stress.Why focus on this issue as we try to reduce infant deaths? Even when adjusting for other risk factors, there is evidence these unexpected pregnancies are at increased risk for preterm birth. One study puts the increased risk at nearly 2 times. But, we know far less about why. Is it the increased stress that leads to preterm birth? Is it that mom wasn’t able to be intentional about being as healthy as possible as she entered pregnancy? Or is it the impact of a lack of social support and judgement that can sometimes accompany these pregnancies?What we do know is that communities that are able to reduce their unintended pregnancy rates also see improvements in things like preterm birth and infant death.So, how do we get there? It likely goes without saying that people have different (and often strong) opinions about this subject. But there is common ground as well. What if we could grow a culture of long-term planning into Cincinnati’s families? One where women set goals for themselves and are able to make intentional choices that help them reach those goals? “Yes, maybe I want another child, but maybe I want to complete my education first.” And then what if our community could come together to make reaching those goals as simple as possible? Setting women up for success will set their children up for success as well.This will not be easy – nothing worth doing is. But, we believe we can get there. Join us. Contact amy.clasgens@cchmc.org to get involved today.