INFANT DEATHS Statistics

The full report on infant deaths is available on the Mahoning County District Board of Health Reports/Annual Reports Web page at www.mahoninghealth.org.

Among the 36 child deaths in 2008 in Mahoning County, 15 others were due to premature birth, seven were murdered (four of them in an arson house fire in January 2008), five died of birth defects, two were adolescents suicides, and two died of other causes.

Health officials say child deaths most frustrating to them are those that are preventable, particularly sleep-environment related. Here are some infant safe-sleep practices:

Infants should be put to sleep on their backs only.

Infants should sleep in a crib with a firm mattress in the same room as their mother.

Caregivers should keep soft objects and loose bedding, such as bumper pads, out of the crib.

Offer a pacifier at nap and bed time.

Mothers should not smoke during or after pregnancy.

Adults should not expose infants to secondhand smoke.

Source: Mahoning County Child Fatality Review Board