Black Infants More Likely To Die In Ohio, Report Says

CLEVELAND — While the number of Ohio infants dying before their first birthdays continues to drop, racial disparities persist, a new report indicates. Black infants are 2.5 times more likely to die than white infants in the Buckeye State, according to new data from the Ohio Department of Health.

On Tuesday, the department released its annual deep dive into infant mortality rates across the state. The most recent data is from 2018.

Infant mortalities dropped from 982 in 2017 to 938 in 2018, according to a new infant mortality report released by ODH. While the death rate among black infants also dropped, by almost 12 percent between 2017 and 2018, black infants are still far more likely to die than white infants in Ohio.

The racial disparity is most pronounced in counties with major metro hubs, such as Cuyahoga, Franklin and Hamilton. Here's how each county's infant mortality rate breaks down, according to ODH:

Cuyahoga County

• Major metro hub: Cleveland
• White infant mortality rate: 4.6 per 1,000 births
• Black infant mortality rate: 15.6 per 1,000 births

Franklin County

• Major metro hub: Columbus
• White infant mortality rate: 5.1 per 1,000 births
• Black infant mortality rate: 12.0 per 1,000 births

Hamilton County

• Major metro hub: Cincinnati
• White infant mortality rate: 4.4 per 1,000 births
• Black infant mortality rate: 16.5 per 1,000 births

“While there are indications of promising progress, there is much more that we must do to help more Ohio babies reach their first birthdays, particularly African-American infants, given that the black infant mortality rate hasn’t changed significantly since 2009,” Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said.

Nine Ohio counties accounted for nearly 66 percent of all infant deaths statewide. Those counties were Butler, Cuyahoga, Franklin, Hamilton, Lucas, Mahoning, Montgomery, Stark and Summit. Those same counties account for 90 percent of all black infant deaths.

Black mothers are also dying at alarming rates during childbirth. Ohio's maternal death rate was 24.7 per 100,000 live births from 2013 to 2017, according to data released by America's Health Rankings. The national average of maternal deaths was 29.6 per 100,000 live births.

Nationally, black women die at a rate of 42.4 deaths per 100,000 births. White women die at a rate of 13 deaths per 100,000 births, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"It is an epidemic that nobody is dealing with in any big way," said U.S. Rep. Marcia Fudge, a Democrat from Cleveland, the Ohio Capital Journal reported.

The Journey To 6

Ohio officials have said they want to achieve a statewide infant mortality rate of six or fewer per 1,000 live births. That rate would apply to all racial and ethnic groups, the ODH said. The statewide infant mortality rate in 2018 was 6.9 per 1,000 live births.

According to ODH's report, the leading causes of infant deaths in Ohio in 2018 were:

• Prematurity-related conditions including preterm birth, respiratory distress and low birth weight (29 percent)
• Birth defects (21 percent)
• External injury (10 percent)
• Sudden infant death syndrome (8 percent)
• Obstetric conditions (6 percent)

A birth is considered preterm when it occurs before a mother has gone through 37 weeks of pregnancy. Chronic illnesses, high blood pressure, previous preterm births and other factors can all contribute to preterm births, according to Stanford's Lucille Packard Children's Hospital.

Preterm births are a major contributing factor to infant death in the first 27 days of life (the neonatal period), the Ohio Department of Health said.

“We can help more Ohio babies reach their first birthdays by addressing infant mortality risk factors like the health of the mother before pregnancy, preterm birth, access to prenatal care and safe sleep practices,” ODH Director Dr. Amy Acton said. “Although there were fewer prematurity-related infant deaths in 2018, prematurity-related conditions remained the leading cause of infant death in Ohio, comprising almost one-third of deaths.”

The full infant mortality report can be found online.