Hamilton County’s Black infant mortality rate more than doubled over the past two years, reversing a downward trend and perplexing medical experts who had hoped for continued improvement.
The finding is part of a report released May 12 from Cradle Cincinnati, the nonprofit that has worked for years to improve Hamilton County’s stubbornly high infant mortality rate.
The increase in Black infant mortality, from 9 to 21 deaths per 1,000 births, means Black infants born in Hamilton County are more at risk than those born in Iraq, Iran, Guatemala, Honduras, Libya or Vietnam, according to the World Bank.
Black infant deaths drove an increase in the county’s overall infant mortality rate from 5.5 to 9.3 deaths per 1,000 births. The infant mortality rate in the United States is about 6 deaths per 1,000 births.
Cradle Cincinnati’s leaders, along with the medical professionals who work with the group, say they can’t explain the sudden jump in infant deaths but are trying to learn more about what might be causing it.
“We are once again seeing significant increases, and that’s something that should alarm every one of us,” said Meredith Smith, Cradle Cincinnati’s executive director. “We are calling on every business leader, faith leader, elected official, healthcare provider, neighbor, and community partner to come to the table and commit to our moms and babies. We can turn this around, but it will take us all.”
According to Cradle’s report, 41 infant deaths in Hamilton County were related to “extreme preterm births,” or babies born after 28 weeks or less of pregnancy. Of those, 26 involved Black infants.
That means Black infants accounted for more than half of infant deaths attributed to extreme preterm births, even though Black residents make up about 25% of the county’s population.
Unsafe sleep conditions, such as sleeping with an adult or sleeping with bedding that can cause suffocation, caused 22 of the county’s infant deaths in 2025, according to the report. That’s up from 15 deaths in 2023.
Cradle Cincinnati has led efforts for years to educate parents about dangerous sleep conditions and to provide safe bedding and cribs.
Grant Mussman, Cincinnati’s health commissioner, said city health officials are working with parents and community leaders “to build a safety net that helps every child thrive.” Those efforts include the Cribs for Kids safe sleep program that offers cribs, sleep sacks and crib sheets to needy families.
“Preventing infant deaths starts with getting the right resources to the families who need them most,” Mussman said.
The bad news in Cradle’s new report came just one year after the medical community celebrated the drop in infant mortality to 5.5 deaths per 1,000 births in 2024, the lowest rate in Hamilton County in at least a quarter century.
The rate of 9.3 deaths reported in 2025 approaches levels last seen 15 years ago, when Hamilton County averaged 9.8 deaths per 1,000 births from 2009 to 2013 and ranked among the worst counties for infant mortality in the nation. Cradle Cincinnati formed in 2013 to try to bring those numbers down.
“Every data point represents a Hamilton County child – an infant dear to their family and to their community,” said Greg Kesterman, Hamilton County’s health commissioner. “We’re losing too many babies.”
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Black infant death rate more than doubles in Hamilton County
Reporting by Dan Horn, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
