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Leading cause of death in children is prematurity
YOUNGSTOWN
Premature births and birth defects continue to be the leading causes of child deaths in Mahoning County, a review shows.
According to the Mahoning County Child Fatality Review Board’s analysis of child deaths in 2009, of the 38 children under 18 who died that year, prematurity was responsible for 14 and birth defects for 11.
Likewise, from 2005 to 2009, prematurity and birth defects were responsible for 98 of the 184 child deaths, according to the board’s report.
The year 2009 is the most recent year for which statistics are available, said Matthew Stefanak, commissioner of the Mahoning County District Board of Health.
Also in 2009, three children died in a sleep environment, three died because of motor-vehicle crashes, and one each died from homicide, suicide, drug overdose, cancer, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, and infectious disease.
The child-fatality review board was created in 2000 to review all child deaths that occur in the county in order to identify the causes and risk factors for those deaths. More than a dozen local organizations participate in the child-death review process.
“We know that the deaths of many of these children were preventable,” said Stefanak, who also is review-board chairman.
Based on its findings, the board each year makes recommendations aimed at preventing future deaths.
The most common recommendation since 2000 has been to promote the necessity for a safe-sleeping environment for infants. Other recommendations from the 2009 review were to increase motor-vehicle safety and to promote tips on the prevention of birth defects, he said.
“Our board once again urges health-care and social-service providers to reinforce safe-sleep practices with parents and caregivers of newborns and infants,” Stefanak said.
The board reviewed 16 of the 38 county child deaths that occurred in 2009. Here are examples of its findings:
In January 2009, a 5-week-old infant in Boardman was found unresponsive after being placed on her side in bed next to her mother. Her cause of death was ruled as asphyxia due to co-sleeping. A crib was present in the home but not used.
In July 2009, a 4-year-old child was riding as a passenger in a van in Youngstown. Her body was thrown from the vehicle when it struck a telephone pole. The child was unrestrained in the front seat. A car seat was present but not used.
In 2009, Ohio strengthened its booster-seat laws. A booster seat is designed to work in combination with a shoulder/lap belt. Use of a booster seat rather than a seat belt by itself reduces the risk of injury by 59 percent, according to the Ohio Department of Health. Parents and caregivers must secure children less than 8 and under 57 inches tall in a booster seat, the ODH says.
In October 2009, a 10-year-old Youngstown youth was playing outside with relatives when he collapsed after complaining of abdominal pain. He was found to have a heart defect which was previously asymptomatic and therefore went untreated, the board reported.
One of every 33 babies is born with a birth defect. A birth defect can affect almost any part of the body, with heart defects making up one-fourth to one-third of all birth defects, Stefanak said.
The full report is available on the Mahoning County District Board of Health Health Reports/Annual Reports web page at www.mahoninghealth.org.