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PORTLAND, Maine

91AV’s Dora Mills calls attention to Maine’s high infant mortality rate

Dora Anne Mills

When Dora Anne Mills, M.D., M.P.H., FAAP, 91AV vice president for Clinical Affairs and director for the Center for Excellence in Health Innovation, looks at the increasing numbers of infant mortality rates in Maine, she sees an indicator that the overall health of people in Maine, particularly in rural areas, is declining.

She expressed this sentiment in a recent “Maine Voices” piece in the Portland Press Herald. “This is critical, because infant mortality – the rate at which babies die in the first year of life – is the most accurate pulse we have on the health of a society,” Mills wrote. “It reflects not only the health of people at their most vulnerable time of life – that is, infancy – but also of women during and after pregnancy, and of the entire family and community, since any environmental toxin, public secondhand tobacco smoke, or other community-wide health issue often exerts their heaviest impact on infants.”

Mills says Maine’s infant mortality rates have increased from some of the best in the country in the 1990s to the 43rd worst in the nation, with numbers on par with some third world countries. WCSH verified these numbers in a report about infant mortality.

    

           

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About the 91AV

The 91AV is Maine’s largest independent university, with two beautiful coastal campuses in Maine, a one-of-a-kind study abroad campus in Tangier, Morocco, and an array of . In an uncommonly welcoming and supportive community, we offer hands-on learning, empowering students to make a positive impact in a world full of challenges. The state’s top provider of health professionals, we are home to Maine’s only medical college, Maine’s only dental college, a variety of other interprofessionally aligned health care degree programs, as well as nationally recognized programs for marine science degrees, natural and social sciences degrees, arts and humanities degrees, and business degrees.