Beyond Babyland

"Memphis has one of the highest rates of infant mortality in the country. A new documentary and panel discussion looks at this problem and how the community is responding.BEYOND BABYLAND Premieres Monday, January 18, @ 8:00 p.m. on WKNO.Production funding by The University of Memphis and The Urban Child Institute. Additional airdates throughout the week. For schedule information, visit wkno.org."

Jonathan and I watched this special documentary on WKNO last night. Granted, it's pretty depressing, but it definitely highlights the reality of infant mortality in Memphis. It touches on institutionalized oppression vs. personal responsibility, abortion, education, the cycle of poverty, and many other important concepts. I was disappointed that there was no mention of adoption in the film. The only options given to the young mothers was either abort the baby or keep it and continue the cycle of poverty. If you can make it through the majority of the panel discussion, I think some of the most important points are made at the end of the discussion. These points include that the faith-based community must take more initiative with sex education with young people, instead of ignoring the fact that two-thirds of teens are engaging in pre-marital sex, and that in order to make progress in our fight against infant mortality, we are going to have to fund evidence-based practices, which will mean higher taxes.

I am currently participating in a faith-based program called One-by-One, which is similar to the Nurse-Family Partnership, but with a gospel message. I will be a mentor for a new mother from her pregnancy through the birth of her baby. Since the leading cause of infant mortality in Memphis is preterm birth, a big focus of this program is educating mom on how to take care of herself and baby before birth. The program partners mentors and proteges through the first 2 years of the baby's life. Despite the fact that I will probably be leaving Memphis during the summer, I am still going to give as much as I can to this program while I am here, and hopefully continue working with One-by-One wherever we end up living.

I will need a prayer partner as I take on mentoring responsibilities. If you are interested in being a prayer partner for me, let me know : ) There is an actual application, and you will need to meet with Carey Moore to get specific info on your duties as a prayer partner.

All this said, I encourage you to watch Beyond Babyland this week while it is still being aired. My hope is that as you watch it, your heart will be touched and you will have a desire to help. I am a firm believer in the phrase "If you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem." Ignoring infant mortality in Memphis because it affects "them" instead of "us" is being part of the problem.