Committee on Health and Environmental Protection
RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, the health, safety, and well-being of the City's most vulnerable residents are a primary concern for the City Council; and
WHEREAS, most vulnerable residents in the City are the children; and
WHEREAS, protecting children should start as early as possible and studies have demonstrated that the efforts can start prior to their birth; and
WHEREAS, Chicago's new public health plan, Healthy Chicago 2.0", lays out an ambitious equity-based agenda, one that calls for health improvements and focus on neighborhoods and communities that face the greatest health disparities; and
WHEREAS, Healthy Chicago 2.0 focuses on root causes, or what social epidemiologists call the "causes of the causes," which is the social and structural conditions that affect residents' health; and
WHEREAS, Healthy Chicago 2.0 outlines 82 objectives and over 200 strategies to help reach 30 goals that are aligned with the City's effort to reduce preterm and low birthweights; and
WHEREAS, preterm delivery and low birthweight are serious birth outcomes that can have negative consequences, not only for infants and their families, but for our City as well; and
WHEREAS, preterm delivery, defined as a delivery before 37 weeks of gestation, is a problem in maternal-child health in the United States; and
WHEREAS, a low birthweight, considered less than 2,500 grams or approximately 5 pounds and 5 ounces, is strongly correlated with preterm delivery; and
WHEREAS, babies who are born preterm and/or low birthweight are at increased risk for death in the first year of life and experience a range of health problems throughout the babies' lifespan; and
WHEREAS, studies have found a significant correlation between birthweight and school age disabilities, behavior problems, reading and math scores, cognitive functions during young adulthood, adult educational attainment, and reproductive outcomes such as low birthweight and gestational diab...
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