Ohio's high infant mortality a legacy of racism, experts say

Last week, Ohio convened its fourth biennial summit on infant mortality. For the first time, the event came to Cincinnati, and more than 800 experts spent Dec. 12 at the Duke Energy Convention Center to think and talk about how to help more babies get to their first birthdays.

As the warriors returned to battle stations, here are five ideas that linger.

Infant mortality is about racism

Speakers urged the summiteers to look at infant mortality as a legacy of racism. Todd Portune, president of the Hamilton County Commission and a founder of Cradle Cincinnati, the 5-year-old nonprofit fighting the problem in Southwest Ohio, struck the note to open the summit. “This is about attacking issues of racism and racism as a whole. . . . If we do that, we will begin to address infant mortality.”

Dr. Camara Jones, former president of the American Public Health Association, said people fighting infant mortality must start asking, “How is racism operating here?” then organize to learn “how racism saps the strength of the whole society through the waste of human resources.”

Read more: https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2018/12/18/ohio-summit-infant-mortality-ties-lingering-problem-racism/2314559002/