Deaths of Black babies before age 1 plummeted to a never-before-seen low in Hamilton County last year as community partners became laser-focused on health disparities for them and their moms.
"Using the language of racism is very important," said Meredith Shockley-Smith, director of equity and community strategies for Cradle Cincinnati. "You have to name the problem in order to be working on the solution."
It was that direction that Cradle Cincinnati launched in 2018, she said. The collaborative of health care, social services and civic partners took it seriously, and the turnaround was stunning.
Black infant mortality dropped 24% in 2019 to the lowest rate Cincinnati has seen since at least 1968. That was the city's last year of comparable data, said Cradle Cincinnati Executive Director Ryan Adcock.
There were 12.6 Black infant deaths per 1,000 live births in 2019, compared with an average of 16.6 Black infant deaths per 1,000 live births in 2014 through 2018, the data show.
The rate is still not where it ought to be, say leaders of the collaborative. The overall infant mortality rate in Hamilton County in 2019 was lower than that of the Black infants' rate, at 9.1 deaths per 1,000 live births.
But things are changing.
For one, Black women of childbearing age are now at the forefront of the cause, helping to direct the collaborative's work and reaching out to their neighbors.
Toya Buckner of Mount Healthy, a mother of four boys, is one.
She surprised herself by taking a seat with the Cradle Cincinnati North College Hill Community Advisory Board several months ago.
It all started simply, with a phone call for help while she was pregnant with her now-1-year-old son, Keyon.
Buckner had struggled with postpartum depression after she gave birth to twins Karter and Kendrick, now 3. She wanted to prevent it or get professional advice on how to cope should it happen again. She's not even sure what number she called, but with Cradle Cincinnati, there's an underlying network of providers that works to hook in women.
Marilyn Dew, a Cradle Cincinnati community health worker, showed up. And she kept showing up, Buckner said. "They help with resources: Diapers, baby beds, food, mindfulness, yoga classes." The list goes on.
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But in addition to offering help, Dew convinced Buckner to join in giving help, too.
"Marilyn kept saying, 'You could be one of us. You have all your knowledge,' " Buckner said. "I was hesitant at first." Finally, she agreed to give it a try and joined the collaborative's "community connections" North College Hill Advisory Board.
"It's really a support group of moms that try to pull it together," she said.
"We sit and pretty much talk about what we can make a difference in in our community – what we can do to help other moms," Buckner said. "We plan events. We figure out ways to reach out to them."
Shockley-Smith said it is vital to have Black women in these leadership positions for Cradle Cincinnati to be at its best for Black infants and mothers. And the 2019 Black infant mortality rate is proof.
"The decrease happened for the Black community," Shockley-Smith said. "That’s a result of Black women bonding together as leaders."
Another aspect of Cradle Cincinnati, Queens Village, brings Black women together in yoga groups, breastfeeding classes, events in which women speak to women about life and childbearing and raising babies. It offers situations in which women can just relax and talk, or figure out job-getting strategies, Shockley-Smith said.
In concrete goals, Cradle Cincinnati has vowed to address infant mortality in a multitude of ways, including:
- Addressing implicit bias with training.
- Modeling action in neighborhoods (such as Avondale) that have succeeded in bringing down preterm deaths.
- Providing wrap-around baby, health and social services for women and their infants.
Services include: prenatal care, information about doctors, help accessing insurance, providing bus tokens, protection from COVID-19, food, Shockley-Smith said.
Buckner said that in her role, she tries to provide moms in the North College Hill area with "peace of mind."
"That's the main thing. You have to think about self-care. We're always focused on making it good for the baby. We don't think about, did you eat today? Did you rest today?" Buckner said. "Emotional support is the key."
Adcock said the focus on racial disparity and the needs of Black infants and mothers must remain a priority.
Hamilton County averaged 59 Black infant deaths per year from 2014 through 2018, records show. The drop in Black infant deaths last year by 14, to 49, shows "good progress," Adcock said.
Even so, he added, "To have equity with the local white infant mortality rate, we'd need to see 20 Black infant deaths. We have a tremendously long way to go still. "
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Black infant deaths dive to new low in Hamilton County - The Cincinnati Enquirer
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