Cincinnati’s infant mortality crisis demands collective action | Opinion
The headlines are hard to ignore. Too many babies in Hamilton County are dying before their first birthdays. Too many are born too early, carrying lifelong health challenges. In 2025, the county’s infant mortality rate ticked upward — and each loss reverberates through families and across the community.
It’s easy to feel paralyzed by numbers like these. But instead of looking away, what if we asked: What can we do, together?
The truth is, this doesn’t have to be the story. When mothers and families are supported — before, during and after pregnancy — babies have a far better chance of thriving. Safe housing, quality health care, stable jobs and strong social networks all help reduce toxic stress, which directly affects pregnancy outcomes. Yet across Greater Cincinnati, these resources are distributed unequally, often along lines of race and income.
In historically Black neighborhoods shaped by segregation, residents breathe higher levels of air pollution and face environmental hazards linked to pregnancy complications. According to Cradle Cincinnati, Black babies in Hamilton County are 79% more likely to die before their first birthday than white babies. That disparity isn’t new, but it persists — and it demands a deeper look at the structural forces at play.
Infant mortality is one of the clearest barometers of community health. When babies die at disproportionate rates, it signals broader failures in housing, health care, economic opportunity and social support. Nationally, the U.S. infant mortality rate has plateaued in recent years after decades of decline, and racial gaps remain stubbornly wide. Hamilton County’s latest rise fits a troubling pattern — but it’s also a wake-up call that progress, while possible, requires sustained, coordinated effort.
We’ve seen that progress before. Since 2011, preterm birth rates in the county have trended downward, thanks largely to solutions co-created with women in the highest-risk communities. Take Cradle Cincinnati’s Queens Village, where Black mothers — new and expecting — support each other while pushing health systems to be more responsive and respectful. It’s a reminder that those closest to the problem often hold the key to lasting change.
Other solutions are within reach. Unsafe sleep conditions remain a factor in many infant deaths. Safe-sleep education is important, but deeper issues — exhaustion, unstable housing, overcrowding, financial strain — also drive unsafe sleep practices. That’s why paid family leave and stronger economic supports are critical: financial stress harms parents’ physical and mental health, and directly affects birth outcomes.
Every one of us can help buffer families from that stress. Ask a simple question: “What can I do in one hour to support a new or expecting mom?” It might be delivering a meal, offering a ride, watching the baby so she can rest, donating to a family-focused organization, or advocating for policies that ensure no one faces pregnancy or early parenthood alone.
This is a moment for businesses, faith communities, policymakers, health systems and neighbors to step up together. The bi3 Fund — which has awarded more than $120 million in grants to fuel health equity and innovation — remains committed to backing Cradle Cincinnati and investing in mothers and babies. We invite others to join us.
Healthy babies are the foundation of a healthy economy and a strong community. If Cincinnati wants to be among the best places to live, we must start by ensuring every mother and every baby has a fair shot. Every baby deserves a first birthday. Every mother deserves support. And every one of us has a role to play.
Jill Miller is President and CEO of the bi3 Fund and co-author of “Infant Mortality and Other Wicked Problems.”
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer.