right
right here in Lucas County-- babies are dying before they celebrate their
first birthday.
What's more troubling... in
Ohio,
a black infant is nearly 3 times
more likely to die before
turning
turning one than a white baby. Amanda Fay breaks down these troubling statistics and takes a
look at
what's being done to get our
babies to
one.
one.
one. Eric
one. Eric Zgodzinski - Health
Commissioner, Toledo Lucas County "Just
another year
where we're looking at babies
dying. And it's
a cause for concern."
Words
Words Toledo Lucas County Health Commissioner, Eric Zgodzinski has uttered far too
many times. Statewide, 929
babies died in Ohio in 2019...
that's actually down by about
ten babies
from the year before. But
that's not the trend in Lucas
County. In fact-- the infant
mortality rate
increased from 7.4 in 2018 to
9.4
in 2019. That means, for every 1
thousand live births in the
county,
nearly ten babies died. And when
you take a closer look, an even
more
troubling trend... The infant
mortality
rate for black babies grew in
Lucas County from 13.7 to 15.9
year
over year. Statewide racial
disaparities continue to widen
as well... while in 2019, 518
white
babies died in Ohio... the
lowest
in a decade... 356 black babies
died...
meaning a black infant in Ohio
is
now 2.8 times more likely to die
than a white baby.
Eric says, "Those individuals
aren't here
to be adults. And we need to
make sure
that we're doing everything we
can to
get that gap narrowed and get as
close to
zero as possible."
So what's being done to save our
babies?... when I last dove into
the
numbers nearly three years
ago...
the black infant mortality rate
was
lower, at 14.2. With efforts to
reverse
that trend... why are the
numbers still going in the wrong
direction? Lucas County's
Getting to 1 Coalition Program
Coordinator Co'Dale Cook says he
can't pinpoint
last dove into the numbers
nearly three years ago... the
black
black infant mortality rate was lower, at 14.2. With efforts to reverse that trend... why are
the numbers still going in the
wrong direction? Lucas County's
Getting to 1 Coalition Program
Coordinator Co'Dale Cook says he
can't pinpoint one specific
reason.
Co'Dale Cook - Ohio Equity
Institute and Getting to 1
Coalition Program Coordinator
"we're still diving into our
need
need to
need to make sure that we're doing everything we can to get that gap narrowed and get as
close to zero as possible." So
what's being done to save our
babies?... when I last dove into
the
numbers nearly three years
ago...
the black infant mortality rate
was lower, at 14.2. With efforts
to reverse
that trend... why are the
numbers
still going in the wrong
direction?
Lucas County's Getting to 1
Coalition Program Coordinator
Co'Dale Cook says he can't
pinpoint
one specific reason.
Co'Dale Cook - Ohio Equity
Institute and
Getting to 1 Coalition Program
Coordinator
"we're still diving into our
data to figure out
which factors to really focus on
so we can
really steward our work and
target out
efforts there."
Cook took the position about two
years ago and says one thing
he's
noticed in his time in the role
is the
lack of consistency with
addressing the
racial disparity across agencies
and
and organizations working on the issue. Co'Dale says, "It's not enough
to have one
conversation. It's not enough to
have a
conversation about it quarterly.
We have to
continue these conversations
month
in, month out. Really, daily."
So what does the Getting to 1
Coalition do? A lot of things,
really.
Neighborhood Navigators are like
a support system for pregnant
and
postpartum moms, focused on
meeting immediate needs.
Co'Dale says, "So if a woman
needs baby
items, we will provide referrals
to that
specific service."
And then there are Certified
Community Health Workers... like
Jada
Jada Barnett. We first met her in 2018. She visits families on a
more
long-term basis... providing
support
before women even get pregnant.
Jada Barnett - Certified
Community
Health Worker "Making sure their
health, their body, their
social, emotional,
is in place, intact and their
bodies are in the
best shape possible so that when
they do
decide they want to start having
children,
they're able to do so and carry
that
pregnancy. "
Barnett says as she interacts
with
families... a big issue she's
coming
across is confusion.
Jada
Jada says, "Families with women not really understanding the different programs that
are out in the community and
what
type of services those programs
provide."
And she says the pandemic is
adding
adding
more
more complications to an already delicate situation. Jada, "Parents having to be
teachers as well
as moms, parents running the
household, especially if they're
pregnant or
just delivered a baby. Trying to
balance all of
those things out."
And she says that means many
times
the last thing a mom wants to go
is
hop on the phone or zoom to find
out
about services and education
available
to them. And Cook says that's
where
Getting to 1 has to followup.
Co'Dale "We can literally lose a
client or
participant if we don't really
focus on our
followup or be consistent with
that."
As far as reversing the trend,
Cook
says while he'd like new
programs over
time, the biggest thing is
focusing on
existing programs and its three
subcommittees.
Co'Dale "We really want to
restructure out
sub committees based on what the
data is
saying... what are the top
prioriy issues that
we need to focus on?"
The number one cause of infant
death, Cook says, is
prematurity... so
prematurity... so
that
that means a greater focus on prenatal care-- addressing things
like mom's age, weight and
habits
like smoking. Those are the
issues Barnett takes on with her
families... as a mom whose
daughter was born weighing less
than
a pound and is now a blossoming
12 year old... she gets it.
Jada "When I'm helping and
assisting,
it's not just someone who is
trying to collect
data on them and reach numbers
or
whatever But it is someone who
has
walked their shoes. "
Cook says we all need to talk
about
about racial disparities and social determinants of health in order
to
really attack this problem.
Co'Dale says, "It's a call to
action that our
coalition really wants to put
out in the
forefront. It's a conversation
that can't any longer be swept
under the rug."
Amanda " He encourages you to
ask pregnant women you know
about
about why
about why types of clinical and social services care they're getting.. and encourage them to
call
the Getting to 1 hotline, or
visit the
website or facebook page to get
linked up
with vital services. We have
all of that
encourage
encourage them to call the Getting to 1 hotline, or visit the website or facebook page to
get linked up with vital
services. We have all of that
information for you on
our app and website. For WTOL
11, I'm Amanda Fay. "
In
In January, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine announced a new Eliminating Racial Disparities
in Infant
Mortality Task Force would meet
for the first time to develop a
strategy
for reducing infant mortality
rates and
eliminating racial disaprities
by 2030.
by 2030.
We're
We're told no one from Lucas County's Getting to 1 Coalition is on
that task force.