Each and every baby born is special, but unfortunately many of their tiny lives are cut short due to improper medical care – and that’s a shame.

A new program across the river in Concordia Parish hopes to lower the parish’s high infant mortality rate through education.

Healthy Start Concordia hopes to soon lessen some of the astonishing numbers.

In 1995, the newest available statistics, 25 out of ever 2,000 babies born in the parish didn’t live to see their first birthday.

The program will be spearheaded by the publicly-funded Central Louisiana Area Health Education Center in Alexandria and a group of 45 local people.

With less than 75 days before the dawn of a new century, it’s a bit scary to think that children born in the parish have such poor chances of survival.

But perhaps what is most troubling is that many of these infant deaths could be prevented with improved prenatal medical care.

Organizers of Healthy Start Concordia hope to reduce those infant deaths by publicizing all of the steps mothers should take to ensure their babies get their lives started on the best foot possible.

Often expecting mothers either seek prenatal too late to be of any real benefit or choose not to seek medical care at all.

Both are frightening thoughts.

Regardless of the reasons the expecting mothers choose to ignore prenatal medical care, it is vital to the welfare of our children.

We hope that through efforts such as Healthy Start Concordia those staggering infant mortality rates will soon be a thing of the past.