Ohio’s Baby Box program can lessen infant mortality

Unacceptably high infant mortality rates in the Mahoning Valley and throughout Ohio continue to stain the health profile of the Buckeye State and the quality of life within it, particularly among its youngest and most vulnerable population.

Nationally, the infant-mortality rate stands at 5, meaning five babies die within their first year for every 1,000 live births. Ohio ranks a lowly 43rd in the nation with its high rate of 7.2. In Mahoning County, the IMR is nearly double – and for African-American babies, triple – the national rate.

To their credit, state and local health departments, hospitals and other service agencies have made chipping away at those stark and shamefully high numbers a priority in recent years. All involved recognize that no stones can be left unturned to lessen the long-lasting devastation caused by the death of an infant.

One concrete sign of that recognition came earlier this month when a coalition of public and private health agencies joined to make our state only the second in the nation to offer a promising new tool to lessen the number of babies who die each year from sudden infant death syndrome and other sleep disorders.

“Research tells us that two of the biggest contributors to sudden, unexplained infant death are premature birth and unsafe sleep arrangements,” said Margaret Larkins-Pettigrew, an associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.

According to the Mahoning County Board of Health, unsafe sleeping conditions range from babies sharing beds with parents or siblings to those tucked away in clothing baskets or couches or even inside overly cluttered cribs.

To avoid such threats, the Baby Box Co., in conjunction with Babies Need Boxes Ohio, has announced plans to offer free of charge about 140,000 of its Baby Boxes to parents of newborns in the state this year. That’s a sufficient number to supply every new parent in the state. And each of those parents should strongly consider the offer by ordering one – and its accompanying online parenting class – at babyboxco.com.

There’s nothing particularly revolutionary or high-tech about the 27-inch by 16-inch by 12-inch cardboard boxes adorned with such baby-friendly designs as “Boisterous Bunnies.”

Some may even label them primitive. But what the boxes complete with a firm mattress lack in frills, they more than make up for in practicality and success.

ASTOUNDING SUCCESS IN FINLAND

Need proof of that success? Consider the example of Finland, which began the Baby Box program about 50 years ago.

Use of the boxes there has been credited with helping that Nordic nation achieve one of the world’s lowest infant-mortality rates. Finland’s national program enables every expecting woman to claim a free Baby Box once she receives prenatal care and parenting information from a health care professional.

Since the program began, Finland’s infant-mortality rate has plummeted from 65 deaths for each 1,000 children born to 1.3 deaths per 1,000 births in 2013, according to the World Health Organization.

In addition to the financial savings, the Baby Box also should please new parents for their environmental sustainability and completely nontoxic construction materials.

The training component of the program also serves as an incentive to attract parents to medical and health facilities for comprehensive prenatal and postnatal care.

Realistically, of course, the Baby Box by itself is no panacea for totally reversing the state’s Third World infant-mortality rate toward levels seen in Finland. Parents also must take on heightened individual responsibilities and initiatives to safeguard their children. These include education on optimal prenatal behaviors for mothers and the absolute necessity for medical attention during pregnancy and after birth.

Nonetheless, the Baby Box campaign, coupled with other aggressive public-health campaigns in our Valley and state, can work to maximize survival rates of infants during those first critical 12 months of life. They also can work to improve the lowly health profile of our community and state.

Those noble ends clearly make the Baby Box initiative worthy of support and participation by all responsible parents in our community and state.