Infant mortality rates have settled down in Mississippi, but a lot of work remains to help more Magnolia State babies make it through their first year of life.

In 2008, nearly 10 Mississippi babies out of every 1,000 born died in the first year of life. That's slightly better than in 1995 and 2000 and much better than the state's worst mark of 11.4 deaths per 1,000 births in 2005.

"It's just been jumping around" over the past decade, said State Health Officer Dr. Mary Currier. "It's stabilized for Mississippi around 10."

Most of the improvement in the infant mortality rates has come through better care for low birth-weight babies - those born under 5 1/2 pounds.

"It's because NICUs have gotten better at taking care of those babies and there's better transportation and better protocols," Currier said, referring to neonatal intensive care units.

The challenge now becomes very difficult - reducing the number of low birth-weight babies, who are usually premature and face a higher risk for dying during the first year.

Preventing premature births is a tall order because so many factors are in play and it's very difficult to identify who will have a premature baby.

Currier is particularly concerned about the disparity for minority babies.

The infant mortality rates for white infants are very close to the national rate of 6.7 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2008. The rate for non-white Mississippi babies - predominantly black - was 12.9 per 1,000 in 2008.

Mississippi already has taken the first step. About 85 percent of expectant Mississippi moms get into prenatal care during the first trimester.

"We do about as well as everybody else," Currier said. "So there's some other piece that's missing."

In an attempt to find that missing piece, the Mississippi State Department of Health has started a pilot program focused on Jackson and the Mississippi Delta.

They've focused on mothers who have had very low birth-weight babies - those born under 3.3 pounds and who have a highest risk for death and lifelong complications.

"We know those women have the highest known risk for having a second low birth-weight baby," Currier said.

The program, which has entered its second year, connects those women with primary health care providers, chronic disease management and a resource mom to help her and baby thrive, Currier said.

One of the goals of the program is to help those women make a reproductive plan and avoid getting pregnant again within 18 months of giving birth, which appears to be a factor in the cycle of low birth-weight babies.

"The mom has time for her body to get back to normal," Currier said.

A number of communities have grassroots program reaching out to mothers, and the health department has applied for federal grants created through health care reform to fund further programs for mothers and babies.

The department is promoting efforts to increase breastfeeding, which could also affect another key long-term health initiative, Currier said.

"It's the best beginning for an infant," she said. "It decreases the risk of becoming obese later in childhood."