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Preliminary data shows Cuyahoga County is seeing significant improvements in its infant mortality rate after decades of concerning numbers.

The 鈥� the lowest level reported in 30 years, said Richard Stacklin, data analyst at the Cuyahoga County Board of Health.

Of the more than 13,000 babies born in the county in 2020, 100 did not survive through their first year of life, Stacklin said.

鈥淭he 100 deaths鈥� is significantly lower than what we鈥檝e seen in previous years,鈥� he said.

Cuyahoga County鈥檚 pre-term birth rate also improved, he said. The county averages about 50 to 60 infants per year who are born before 22 weeks of gestation, but in 2020, it reported just 33, he said.

鈥淥ne of the big reasons infant mortality is down this year is the significant decrease in pre-term babies born,鈥� Stacklin said.

However, racial disparities continued to persist across all data points, Stacklin said.

Of the 100 infants that died, 73 were Black, he said, and Black babies accounted for more than 80 percent of the county鈥檚 pre-term births.

The Black infant mortality rate for 2020 was 14.6 deaths per 1,000 live births, about twice the overall rate, Stacklin said, and dramatically higher than the rates for both white and Hispanic babies, which were 3.5 and 2.0, respectively.

However, the Black infant mortality rate is consistently improving, he said.

鈥淓ven though there鈥檚 still a large gap鈥� 14.6 was the lowest in the last five years,鈥� Stacklin added.

Numbers Rising As Pandemic Slows 

Although the county鈥檚 overall infant mortality rate reached an historic low in 2020, infant deaths seem to be ticking back up again in 2021, he said.

The rate through May 2021 is 8.9 deaths per 1,000 live births, compared to 7.8 in May 2020, Stacklin said.

The significant drop in deaths last year and subsequent uptick this year could be tied to the COVID-19 pandemic.

鈥淔or some reason, it seemed like the pandemic was a positive effect for infant mortality, and heading back to real life, we鈥檙e trending back, unfortunately,鈥� Stacklin said.

One hypothesis, he said, is that mothers, particularly those who are African American, may have stayed home more often during the pandemic and experienced less stress. Black moms may also be experiencing racism or prejudice more frequently in their daily lives now, which can cause added stress during pregnancy, he said.

Stacklin presented the preliminary data Tuesday during the quarterly meeting of the Community Action Council for a coalition of local organizations focused on decreasing the county鈥檚 infant mortality rate.

Dr. Jennifer Bailit, former co-chair of the council and obstetrician at MetroHealth System, said more research is needed before health officials can draw any conclusions.

鈥淚t could be one or two multiple pregnancies that caused the difference in rates, and it may just be random chance, too,鈥� she said. 鈥淎 couple sets of twins or triplets could do this.鈥�

The council also discussed next steps to try to continue reducing infant mortality in the county, particularly targeting systemic racism.

First Year Cleveland is currently in transition and will soon begin searching for a new executive director. Katrice Cain, who previously served as the organization鈥檚 Racial Disparities and Health Equity Program director, .

鈥淩egardless of the changes that are happening, improving maternal and infant health outcomes, particularly for Black moms and babies, will always remain at the forefront of our work,鈥� Cain said Tuesday.

First Year Cleveland officials plan to continue working with both at-risk moms as well as fathers, educating them on healthy behaviors for infants such as safe sleep.

They are also advocating to preserve and increase state funding for initiatives aimed at improving infant and maternal outcomes, such as home visits and housing programs, as well as infant mortality grants from the state鈥檚 Office of Minority Health, officials said.  

And council members are collaborating with partners in other states with similarly high rates of infant mortality and racial disparities, such as Michigan. The Midwest has the highest Black infant mortality rates in the country, according to data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

More specific courses of action will be released as the executive committee moves forward in its process of hiring a new executive director, including the development of a new strategic plan, Cain said.