Ohio among worst for infant mortality among African-American babies

Ohio continues to have among the highest rates in the nation for African-American babies dying before their first birthday.

Ohio ranked next to last among the 50 states and the District of Columbia with 13.46 deaths for every 1,000 live births to black mothers from 2013 to 2015.

That is more than double the state’s infant-mortality rate of 5.76 for babies born to white mothers during the same period, according to data released Thursday by the National Center for Health Statistics.

While the overall infantmortality rate in Ohio and the United States has declined in the past decade, the new federal report shows that wide

racial disparities persist.

To underscore the significance of that gap, T.J. Mathews, a demographer and one of the report’s authors, noted that the lowest mortality rate in the nation for black infants — 8.27 in Massachusetts — was still worse than the highest rates for both white babies — 7.04 in Arkansas — and Latino infants — 7.28 in Michigan.

To lower infantmortality rates, efforts clearly must be focused on on black women and their newborns, Mathews said.

The findings are no surprise to Ohio officials who have invested millions to improve the health of newborns only to see the number of infant deaths, particularly for AfricanAmerican babies, remain stubbornly high.

Nearly $50 million was included in the last state budget for community programs to address the problem, as efforts across Ohio expand beyond access to health care to tackle such issues as stable housing, education and employment.

“It’s going to take a village to turn these numbers around, and a holistic approach,” said Priyam Chokshi, director of community and legislative strategies for CelebrateOne, a local group working to reduce the infant-mortality rate.

“We’re expanding our focus to social determinants of health; housing, education and even stress among mothers is a huge factor.”

The group provides mentoring programs, transportation to medical appointments, a hotline for expecting moms and other services, including a safe-sleep campaign. Earlier this week, CelebrateOne received a state grant of nearly $1 million to help pregnant women in extremely low-income areas find and pay for housing.

“What impacts the lives of infants and their families are social determinants, housing and poverty are key, and the health and well-being of mother is a huge factor,” said state Sen. Charleta B. Tavares, D-Columbus.

Tavares said she believes Ohio is focusing on the right priorities, but it is frustrating to not get data more quickly to know if the strategy is paying off.

“While Ohio’s infantmortality rates for all races are improving over time, we still have work to do to help more babies reach their first birthdays,” said Russ Kennedy, spokesman for the Ohio Department of Health. “That is why the state continues to invest millions of dollars in local initiatives to help save babies’ lives, particularly in high-risk communities and populations.

“Maternal and infant health, including infant mortality, is one of Ohio’s top health priorities in a new state health-improvement plan that we began implementing early last year, including strategies to eliminate racial and ethnic disparities in birth outcomes.”

The Center for Perinatal Research at Nationwide Children’s Hospital is trying to help as well. The center, headed by Dr. Irina Buhimschi, does research on the prevention of premature births and associated health issues.

The federal report showed that Ohio’s overall infant-mortality rate has dropped in recent years but remains one of the highest in the nation.

Ohio ranks 40th among the 50 states and District of Columbia for infant deaths with a rate of 7.13 per 1,000, compared with the national average of 5.89. Mississippi had the highest overall rate, 9.08, while Massachusetts had the lowest, 4.28.

Still, from 2005 to 2015, Ohio’s infantmortality rate declined from 8.17 to 7.18, a drop of 12 percent. Nationally, the rate dropped 14 percent during that decade. Other findings:

Wisconsin was the only state with a higher death rate than Ohio for black infants, 14.28 per 1,000 births. That is more than three times as high as that state’s death rate for white babies.

Nationally, 11.10 black infants died per 1,000 from 2013 to 2015, more than double the 4.95 rate for white babies.