Guilford County Releases New Health Report

A new report outlines health data and trends in Guilford County. 

It's called the State of the County's Health Report, and it includes the most recent statistics from 2018.

The report highlights information on a variety of health indicators including maternal and child health, which has been a priority for the county. 

Laura Mrosla is with the Guilford County Department of Health and Human Services' Public Health Division. She says this information is compared with national and international standards and can be used to show any disparity that exists around race or ethnicity.  

“One of the things we know is that if we really want to improve maternal and child health we have to look at the whole picture, and one of the best things we can do as a community is to strive to ensure that women are healthy prior to conception," she says. "Because if a woman is not healthy when she conceives, her birth outcomes may not be as good.”

Mrosla says the good news is they've seen progress when it comes to teen pregnancy. Rates are 60 percent lower than they were just 10 years ago.

But she says more work needs to be done to lower infant mortality rates which have been increasing over the past few years.