Despite years of efforts to push down the infant mortality rate of black babies, the latest data shows Ohio has a worse rate than nearly every other state in the nation.
A new report from the National Center for Health Statistics shows from 2013 to 2015, 13.46 of every 1,000 black babies in Ohio died before their first birthday. That’s more than double the rate of white babies, who died at a rate of 5.76 per 1,000 babies.
The only state with a worse infant mortality rate for black babies was Wisconsin, where 14.28 of every 1,000 babies died in their first year of life.
The nation’s lowest mortality rate for black babies – 8.27 in Massachusetts – was still higher than the nation’s highest rate for white babies, which was 7.04 in Arkansas.
Ohio’s overall infant mortality rate of 7.13 was much higher than the national average and was lower than just 10 other states and the District of Columbia.
