Babies show off super strength to kick-off infant mortality awareness effort

The search is on to find the the next strong baby who'll be the star of the latest push to reduce infant mortality in Milwaukee.

It's called the Strong Baby campaign and features creative displays around town of babies doing outrageously strong tasks. For example, lifting a trash can, doing pull-ups or a hand stand.

Milwaukee's Lifecourse Initiative for Healthy Families is using that spirit to embody the importance of healthy babies.

The community is encouraged to bring their infant, age 7 to 18 months old, to a live casting call on Nov. 1 from 11:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.

Beginning that day, entries can also be made on the Strong Baby Facebook page.

A winner will be chosen and will be featured in the next public service campaign that talks about proper prenatal care and how mother's can make other safe choices to deliver a healthy, full-term birth.

Mayor Tom Barrett said education is a critical component for the development of future strong babies.

\"For every co-sleeping death in Milwaukee, there are four babies who die from complications due to prematurity,\" he said. \"So we're putting a lot of focus on prematurity and problems from having babies who die too small too soon.\"

Mayor Barrett is on a mission to reduce the city's overall infant mortality rate by 10 percent and the African American infant mortality rate by 15 percent by 2017.

You can learn more about how to participate in the campaign by visiting the Strong Babies campaign website.

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