Hamilton County infant mortality is at a historic low, below the nation’s average

Hamilton County was once considered to have the second-worst infant mortality rate in the country. But now the county has made significant progress in improving maternal and infant health outcomes. For the first time on record, the Black infant mortality rate is in the single digits; 9.0, which marks a major milestone in Hamilton County. As of 2023, the overall infant mortality rate is at 5.5, meaning that there is an average of 5.5 infant deaths per 1,000 live births, decreasing over half from 2021’s rate of 10.2. Health leaders celebrated the county’s historic milestone but addressed in a press conference Thursday that they are determined to keep infant mortality down for all racial and ethnic groups in Hamilton County. “To now be lower than the national average speaks to the power of our community coming together and applying persistent and innovative approaches to solving infant mortality, Dr. Meredith Smith, Cradle Cincinnati Executive Director, wrote in a news release. “We are thrilled with this progress, but our work is not done until every baby born in Hamilton County lives to see their first birthday.” Even as the rate continues to decrease in Hamilton County, Black families were nearly 2.5 times more likely to experience infant loss than white families in 2023.“We know that racism and racial discrimination are driving factors for our local infant mortality rates, Cradle Cincinnati Epidemiologist Dominique Walker said in a news conference. “That’s why our county is focused on amplifying the voices of Black women in clinical and community settings while working closely with regional maternal health providers to address racial disparities as the focal point of the work.”Walker said earlier in 2024, four hospitals with birthing facilities — The Christ Hospital, Mercy Health, TriHealth and UC Health — demonstrated their commitment to maternal and infant health equity through Mama Certified.”This first-of-its-kind partnership brings together birthing hospitals and Black mothers to advance maternal health equity for Black families by publicly sharing data and working together toward system changes,” Walker said in a news conference. Before doctors Elizabeth Kelly, maternal health lead, and James Greenberg, infant health lead, co-founded Cradle Cincinnati the Black infant mortality rate was 17.2.Cradle Cincinnati launched in 2013 as a collaborative effort between parents, caregivers, healthcare professionals and Hamilton County residents with the commitment to reduce the infant mortality rate in the county. “When we started, we have two goals: 0ne was an aspirational goal that infant mortality rate in Hamilton County would be zero,” Greenberg said in a news conference. “Our intermediate goal was that we would get to the national average. Greenberg said, in 2023, Hamilton County infant deaths declined from the previous year. There were 34 fewer infant deaths in 2023 than in 2022 and 11 fewer than in 2021.Every year Cradle Cincinnati continues to chip away at those numbers and address some of the key issues causing babies in Hamilton County to die before their first birthdays, like racism, unsafe sleep and preterm births. “One of the most preventable infant deaths, which we see all too often is when babies die in unsafe sleep environments,” Grant Mussman, Cincinnati health commissioner, said in a news conference. “And last year, Hamilton County lost 15 babies to sleep-related deaths.According to the news release, Black families are five times more likely to experience a sleep-related loss than white families. To address the sleep-related infant death disparity, Cradle Cincinnati held focus groups with Black mothers to better understand the challenges they faced in consistently practicing safe sleep. However, Hamilton County’s sleep-related deaths are still higher than the national average. Co-bedding, or when a baby sleeps with another person, continues to be the leading cause of sleep-related infant death, according to the news release. Mussman said the city has distributed over 1,000 cribettes to families through 22 community partners to give a safe place for babies to sleep. For more information on how to receive a free crib call 564-BABY.

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