Infant deaths rose slightly in 2016, state reports

Staff report

COLUMBUS

The Ohio Department of Health says the number of infant deaths rose slightly in 2016, when compared with the previous year.

A report released Friday says 1,024 babies died in Ohio last year before their first birthdays. That’s 19 more infant deaths than in 2015.

The overall infant mortality rate, defined as the number of deaths of infants 1 year or younger per 1,000 live births, hasn’t changed significantly in the past decade.

However, the report shows the mortality rate for black babies is nearly three times greater than for white babies.

Last year’s increase occurred despite a 22 percent drop in sleep-related deaths. The report says there were 117 such deaths last year compared with 150 in 2015.

Health department officials say sleep-related deaths are easily preventable. Most suffocation deaths occur when babies sleep on couches, chairs or in beds with another person.

According to ODH, the five-year average infant mortality rates between 2012 and 2016 in Columbiana, Mahoning and Trumbull counties were 5.0, 8.6, and 7.4, respectively.

The state health department also reported that the infant mortality rates in 2016 were not reported in Columbiana. The rates in Mahoning and Trumbull counties were 6.0 and 7.6, respectively.

Rates based on fewer than 10 infant deaths are “unstable and not reported,” according to the 2016 Ohio Infant Mortality data.