infant mortality

While Hamilton County's overall infant mortality rate is trending down in 2019, sleep-related deaths are surging. Cradle Cincinnati reports there have been 20 sleep-related infant deaths so far this year in Hamilton County and Northern Kentucky.

In 2011, Hamilton County's infant mortality rate ranked the second worst in the nation. Thanks to efforts by local organizations and agencies over the last several years there has been an improvement – last year the county recorded the lowest number of infant deaths in its history. But Hamilton County still has an infant mortality rate that is far higher than the national rate.

Hamilton County is reporting 2018 saw a 50-year low in the number of babies dying before their first birthday. Cradle Cincinnati says there were 92 deaths last year, down from 97 in 2017.

Ohio's infant mortality rate remains higher than the national average. The rate of African-American babies dying before their first birthdays is three times that of white babies.

In 2013, Bethesda Inc.'s grant-making initiative, bi3, awarded a $3.2 million, three-year grant to a first-ever collaboration between Every Child Succeeds, Cincinnati Children’s and TriHealth to tackle infant mortality rates in Hamilton County – one of the highest in the country.   

Cradle Cincinnati has a new report showing how fatal birth defects contribute to Hamilton County's infant mortality rate.

While there’s been some improvement during the past few years, Hamilton County still ranks among the worst 10 percent in the country for infant mortality. At 8.96 deaths per 1,000 live births, the county’s rate exceeds both the national and Ohio rates.

Cradle Cincinnati reports preterm and sleep-related infant deaths are decreasing. However, in its annual rate study released Tuesday, Executive Director Ryan Adcock says an increase in fatal birth defects is troubling.

While the national rate of teenage pregnancies has declined over the past two decades, the latest U.S. Department of Health & Human Services statistics show there is still a birth rate of 24.2 per 1,000 among women ages 15-19. These young mothers often struggle with the many demands and hardships of raising a child.

Cradle Cincinnati says it is making slow progress in bringing down Hamilton County's high infant mortality rate. Numbers released Thursday show an overall decline in the number of babies dying before their first birthdays but the 2015 death rate is higher than in 2014.

The local infant mortality rate is still unacceptably high, but more babies are surviving to their first birthday in Cincinnati than in previous years. The Cincinnati Health Department is working to continue that trend, sponsoring a series of discussions for would-be, expectant and young mothers, and fathers, about family planning, healthy moms and babies. 

While the local infant mortality rate is still unacceptably high, far higher than the national rate, there have been recent signs of significant improvement. More babies are surviving to their first birthday in Cincinnati than in previous years, a milestone acknowledged earlier this summer at the Cincinnati Health Department’s Infant Vitality Forum. 

Babies born to women who smoke during pregnancy are 44 percent more likely to die before their first birthday, according to Cradle Cincinnati. The group wants to do something about that.

  When it comes to infant mortality rates, Hamilton County and Cincinnati are among the worst in the nation. Between 2009 and 2013, the national average was a little over six deaths per thousand in the first year of life. For Hamilton County it was 9.9 and for the city of Cincinnati, even worse at 12.4 deaths, twice the national figure.