Tuesday, July 28th, 2015
Local infant mortality figures better than state's
By Shelley Grieshop
The survival rate of infants is much better in Mercer and Auglaize counties than all of Ohio, which averages 23 percent higher than the national average.
According to data released Monday by the Ohio Department of Health, the state's infant mortality rate dropped slightly in 2013 to 1,024 deaths, down from 1,047 deaths in 2012. The rate - measured by the number of infant deaths per 1,000 live births - was 7.4 in 2013 and 7.6 the previous year in Ohio.
Mercer County's average annual infant mortality rate from 2004-2013 was 3.6; its highest annual rate for a five-year period was 6.2 from 1999-2003. Auglaize County averaged 6.1 from 2004-2013; its highest annual rate for a five-year period was 7.4 from 2001-2005.
"No statistically significant change over the last 10 years," was noted by ODH's Office of Vital Statistics for infant mortality rates in the Grand Lake area.
Mercer County in 2013 - the most recent figures available - recorded one neonatal death out of 590 births. Auglaize County had two neonatal deaths and one post-neonatal death out of 534 births in 2013.
The three leading causes of deaths in infants in Ohio are premature births, sleep-related deaths including Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, and birth defects.
According to findings by ODH, risk factors such as smoking may have contributed to infant mortality. It is estimated that 23-34 percent of SIDS infant deaths and 5-7 percent of pre-term related infant deaths in the U.S. are linked to women who smoked during pregnancy.
Ohio's black infant mortality rate greatly decreased from 1990-2013. However, black infants continue to die at more than twice the rate of white infants in Ohio. In 2013, the mortality rate for black infants was 13.8.
State health officials said the latest figures do not capture the impact of state initiatives over the last few years that take aim at the problem. Such efforts include public awareness campaigns, smoking cessation programs and improved tracking to identify communities most at risk.
Julia Shaffer, director of nursing for the Mercer County-Celina City Health Board, said the issue must be addressed before babies become a statistic.
"I think this is very important and prevention is the main focus of public health," she said.
Ohio health officials believe they are slowly making progress.
"We are making progress, but we all must do even more to save babies' lives," ODH Director Rick Hodges said in a news release. "Much has been done over the last two years and we are waiting for that date to be measured. In particular, we must do more to address the racial disparity in infant mortality, and we are doing so through our support of the Ohio Institute for Equity in Birth Outcomes."
The institute is a partnership between ODH and CityMatCH, a national organization that supports urban maternal and child health initiatives at the local level. The partnership focuses on key metropolitan areas in Ohio such as Dayton, Cincinnati and Columbus.
Gov. John Kasich's new two-year budget contains several initiatives that target infant mortality by focusing resources where the need is greatest. The governor in 2014 signed into law House Bill 394, which created a commission on infant mortality.
- The Associated Press contributed to this story.
