COLUMBUS, Ohio – Efforts are being made at the local and federal level to combat the problem of infant mortality in Columbus and the rest of Ohio.
After six months of researching the causes of infant mortality, the Greater Columbus Infant Mortality Task Force has presented a plan, accepted last week by the Franklin County Commissioners, to tackle the problem.
Health officials say, in 2011, the infant mortality rate for Franklin County was 9.8 infant deaths per 1,000 live births, 71st among Ohio’s 88 counties, and comparable to the national rate the early 1900s. The infant mortality rate for African American babies in central Ohio is more than twice that of white babies, and the difference between the two has grown in recent decades.
The local task force’s recommendations include: Reducing social and economic disparities; improving women’s health in general, and prior to their becoming pregnant; improving family planning resources and access to long-acting reversible contraception; improving pre-natal and preventative care for expectant mothers and promoting infant safe sleep through education and outreach on the safest way to put young children to bed.
Ohio ranks last in the nation for African American infant mortality and 48th for all births, said U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, who is introducing a bill aimed at making it easier to track infant deaths.
“[T]he Sudden Unexpected Death Data Enhancement and Awareness Act [will] help doctors and researchers begin to fight back against these tragic losses and help ensure that all children have every opportunity to lead healthy and full lives,” He said.
The legislation seeks to fill the gaps in federal reporting of infant and childhood deaths to improve prevention efforts, Brown said.
The bill would give the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services authority to standardize protocols used by medical examiners in stillbirths and unexpected infant and childhood deaths, Brown said.
It would also establish and promote a standard method of data collection at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for investigations at death scenes and in autopsies so that all of the investigating agencies are recording data similarly, which Brown says would help doctors and researchers to better track and prevent the deaths.