Baby shower aims to help reduce African American infant mortality

Pastel-colored gifts will take center stage this weekend at a community baby shower in Peninsula Park, but the pinks and light blues will spotlight a darker issue -- significantly higher infant mortality rates in North and Northeast Portland. The Multnomah County Health Department's Healthy Birth Initiatives program will host the event from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday to benefit expectant mothers and promote its services to them. "The purpose in the community is really to try to find out who's pregnant and who has babies under six months in our community," says Sharon Smith, coordinator of the federally funded initiative. "We thought that if we did something like this that if they're pregnant, they'd come out." With raffles, food, games and gifts, the event is targeted at pregnant African Americans living in the ZIP codes 97203, 97211, 97212, 97213, 97217, 97218, 97220 and 97227.

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