CINCINNATI — For the first time, the rate of newborn deaths in Hamilton County has dropped below the national average, marking "historic strides" in the ongoing effort to improve health outcomes locally.
"The number of deaths is really important because every one of these deaths reflects a horrible loss for the involved family," said Dr. James Greenberg, a co-founder of Cradle Cincinnati. "It's important for you all to understand that there was universal skepticism about our ability ... to actually achieve that goal."
Infant deaths overall dropped by more than 35% from 8.7 deaths per 1,000 births in 2022 to 5.5 deaths in 2023.
The death rate is much higher for Black newborns but dropped significantly in 2023, from 13.7 deaths per 1,000 births to nine.
For Black infants born in Hamilton County, the death rate dropped from 13.7 to 9 per 1,000, in 2023.
— Connor Steffen | WCPO (@ConnorSteffenTV) July 11, 2024
The group calls this “history making,” because for the first time ever, Hamilton County’s Black infant death rate is in single digits. pic.twitter.com/SKyi8yFuZU
"We know that racism and racial discrimination are driving factors for local infant mortality rates," said Dominique Walker, an epidemiologist with Cradle Cincinnati. "Even with this progress, we do know that Black families in our county are still two and a half times more likely to experience an infant loss than white families."
Dr. Elizabeth Kelly, a co-founder of Cradle Cincinnati, said one of the most important tenets of their job is to listen to their patients.
"Listening to pregnant people, and to Black pregnant people," Kelly said. "And we believe that intervention has driven many things."
Cradle Cincinnati was founded 11 years ago as a collective impact collaborative, with the goal of "ensuring that every infant born in Hamilton County, lives to see their first birthday."
Over the years, a multitude of initiatives have taken shape — the culmination of which officials believe is responsible for the drop in death figures this past year.
"This is multiple things coming together, multiple things, over many years, coming together," Kelly said. "It's some part of what everyone is doing: working for someone. That's the way I look at it."
Some interventions the group has taken include increasing access to prenatal care for patients, informing patients of the dangers of tobacco use during pregnancy and providing "vital" social support.
"That social support comes through Queens Village, through community health workers, through neighbors, through pantries through everything in our county that has really made Hamilton County shine in the area of infant mortality in 2023," Dr. Kelly said.
Since 2019, the leading cause of infant death has been preterm births, followed by sleep-related deaths and birth defects among other things.
Among those factors, health experts say sleep-related deaths are the most preventable.
"One of the most preventable [types of] infant deaths we see all too often is when babies die in unsafe sleep environments," said Grant Mussman, commissioner of health for the City of Cincinnati. "At the Cincinnati health department, we encourage all families to practice the Safe Sleep ABCs."
In 2023, Hamilton County lost 15 babies to sleep-related deaths, Mussman said.
Those within the group said it's vital to continue amplifying Black voices — especially those in the health care field — and to continue building on the past decade of work that has gotten them to this point.
Cradle Cincinnati officials said it's hard to project if this positive trend will continue going forward, but they remain hopeful and motivated to get that number to zero.
"We understand the importance of working with community partners, building community relationships, and really truly working together to make an impact in our community," said Hamilton County Health Commissioner Greg Kesterman.
