@pbsnews: When it comes to infant mortality, the United States ranks 54th in the world. That's on par with countries like Romania, Hungary and the United Arab Emirates and three times the death rate of Japan, Singapore or Slovenia. Within the U.S., Ohio is in the bottom 25 percent of all states. And, within Ohio, Hamilton County was even worse, until it started working on saving newborn lives more than a decade ago. In 2011, Hamilton County's rate and Ohio's was well above the national average, with Black babies 3.5 times more likely to die than white babies. "The way that our society is measured is the way that we treat our babies. So if we have babies dying at an alarming rate, we have a societal problem," said Meredith Smith. Smith is the head of Cradle Cincinnati, an organization created to lead the county's effort to reduce its infant mortality rate. After five years into the project, the organization decided to focus more on the Black mortality rate. "We must change this rate in order to see success," said Cradle Cincinnati's Meredith Smith. "As we focus on Black women and their reality, we close the gap." Since 2011, the county's mortality rate has decreased from 10.2 deaths per thousand births to 5.5, with the rate for Black babies falling by nearly 50 percent. PBS News Hour's Paul Solman has more. #news #pbsnews #pbs

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Friday 24 January 2025 18:00:05 GMT