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Ohioans know our state has its challenges, but generally speaking we think of ourselves as better off than those in some other parts of the country -- or world. For our youngest and most vulnerable residents, that is not always the case. Given the number of politicians who want us to believe the lives of babies are of the utmost important to them, it is astounding that the infant mortality rate here is STILL considerably above the national average.
Efforts to address the problem have made some progress. We are down to 6.6 deaths per 1,000 live births in Ohio, compared with the national average of 5.36, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Advocates suggest there is a lack of access to patient-centered care and education here that is not a problem in other states.
Richard Stacklin, a senior director for First Year Cleveland, told the Capital Journal Black residents of Cuyahoga County face an even higher infant mortality rate, and that parents report negative interactions with medical professionals before and during the birthing process.
Again: Ohio infants die at a greater rate than those in the United States as a whole. That should inspire the kind of rage and action our politicians seem capable of drumming up only when we're talking about the period before the baby is born.