Why do African-American babies die at a rate double that of non-African-American babies? Are sudden infant deaths linked to other inequities?

Political, social and environmental health inequities are directly linked to the risk factors listed above. For example, a 2014 landmark study shows people of color are exposed to 38 percent higher levels of air pollution compared to whites — Wisconsin came in ninth in the U.S. for air pollution disparities. Air pollution contributes to respiratory and other illnesses and may compound effects of formula-feeding. In 2011 the surgeon general warned, “The risk of hospitalization for lower respiratory tract disease in the first year of life is more than 250 percent higher among babies who are formula-fed than in those who are exclusively breastfed at least four months. Furthermore ... sudden infant death syndrome is 56 percent higher among infants who are never breastfed.”