Hamilton County Saw Fewest Infant Deaths Ever in 2018, But Racial Disparities Continue
92 babies died before their first birthday in Hamilton County in 2018, 5 fewer than in 2017 and the fewest in county history. While outcomes have improved across populations since 2017, an 11% improvement in Black infant deaths was instrumental in driving the change. With 10,739 births, the infant mortality rate for 2018 was 8.6 deaths per 1,000 live births.
Nationally and locally, trends continue to show a 3-fold increased risk of infant death for Black families across the socio-economic spectrum. Our new report - released today - highlights 50 years of the complex and stubborn racial disparity at the core of this issue.
In fact, Hamilton County’s White and Hispanic infant mortality rates are now at the US averages while our local Black infant mortality rate is more than 3 times higher than the White rate and 32% worse than the US Black average.
2018 showed bright spots among Black birth outcomes as well. The percentage of Black women in Hamilton County who did not access prenatal care in 2018 fell to 3% ‒ nearly half of what it had been. At the same time, more local Black women than ever before accessed prenatal care in the first trimester.
As part of this new report, we're highlighting known solutions for reducing racial disparity in infant mortality, including community health workers, group prenatal care, implicit bias training and policy-level solutions.
Black women in Hamilton County who are interested in getting involved in developing solutions are encouraged to participate in Queens Village, a community of powerful Black women of childbearing age who come together to relax, re-power and take care of each other.
Other important trends in local birth outcomes:
Trend 1: Preterm birth-related deaths dropped sharply. The reason that Hamilton County had an improved infant mortality rate in 2018 was a sharp decline in deaths due to preterm birth, the leading cause of infant death. From 2013-2017, Hamilton County saw an average of 59 preterm birth-related deaths. In 2018, this fell by 19% to 48 deaths. An average county the size of Hamilton County has just 36 deaths of this type.
Trend 2:Birth defect-related infant deaths and sleep-related infant deaths rose slightly. The second and third leading causes of infant death each saw small rises in 2018. Birth defect-related deaths went from an average of 19 deaths up to 23. The change was not statistically significant. Sleep-related infant deaths, an area where our community has seen recent improvement, also rose slightly from 13 to 14.
Trend 3: Lowest maternal smoking ever for all populations. Fewer pregnant women than ever before reported smoking in Hamilton County in 2018. Rates of maternal smoking in Hamilton County are now at 8.1%. These rates have declined for the 3rd year in a row and have seen a 19% decline over a 5 year period.
Trend 4:Place-based investments are working. More than half of the improvement in preterm birth came from just three communities; Price Hill, Avondale and Villages at Roll Hill all saw dramatic improvement. Price Hill, in fact, saw its rate of preterm birth drop to 1/3 of its previous rate and is now better than the national average.
Nationally and locally, trends continue to show a 3-fold increased risk of infant death for Black families across the socio-economic spectrum. Our new report - released today - highlights 50 years of the complex and stubborn racial disparity at the core of this issue.
In fact, Hamilton County’s White and Hispanic infant mortality rates are now at the US averages while our local Black infant mortality rate is more than 3 times higher than the White rate and 32% worse than the US Black average.
2018 showed bright spots among Black birth outcomes as well. The percentage of Black women in Hamilton County who did not access prenatal care in 2018 fell to 3% ‒ nearly half of what it had been. At the same time, more local Black women than ever before accessed prenatal care in the first trimester.
As part of this new report, we're highlighting known solutions for reducing racial disparity in infant mortality, including community health workers, group prenatal care, implicit bias training and policy-level solutions.
Black women in Hamilton County who are interested in getting involved in developing solutions are encouraged to participate in Queens Village, a community of powerful Black women of childbearing age who come together to relax, re-power and take care of each other.
Other important trends in local birth outcomes:
Trend 1: Preterm birth-related deaths dropped sharply. The reason that Hamilton County had an improved infant mortality rate in 2018 was a sharp decline in deaths due to preterm birth, the leading cause of infant death. From 2013-2017, Hamilton County saw an average of 59 preterm birth-related deaths. In 2018, this fell by 19% to 48 deaths. An average county the size of Hamilton County has just 36 deaths of this type.
Trend 2:Birth defect-related infant deaths and sleep-related infant deaths rose slightly. The second and third leading causes of infant death each saw small rises in 2018. Birth defect-related deaths went from an average of 19 deaths up to 23. The change was not statistically significant. Sleep-related infant deaths, an area where our community has seen recent improvement, also rose slightly from 13 to 14.
Trend 3: Lowest maternal smoking ever for all populations. Fewer pregnant women than ever before reported smoking in Hamilton County in 2018. Rates of maternal smoking in Hamilton County are now at 8.1%. These rates have declined for the 3rd year in a row and have seen a 19% decline over a 5 year period.
Trend 4:Place-based investments are working. More than half of the improvement in preterm birth came from just three communities; Price Hill, Avondale and Villages at Roll Hill all saw dramatic improvement. Price Hill, in fact, saw its rate of preterm birth drop to 1/3 of its previous rate and is now better than the national average.