'Significant and troubling issue'; St. Louis County officials working to curb rising child, infant mortality rates
Elizabeth Barmeier | Spectrum News | November 22, 2023
ST. LOUIS — To raise awareness of infant and child mortality rates on the rise in Missouri, St. Louis County officials held a free child safety event for families Wednesday at the John C. Murphy Health Center.
The CDC reported that Missouri’s infant mortality rate increased by 60% from than five deaths per 1,000 live births in 2021 to more than six deaths per 1,000 live births in 2022, according to St. Louis County Executive Sam Page.
In St. Louis County, an average of 50 children between ages 1-17, and 80 infants, die annually, according to Dr. Kanika Cunningham, director of the Department of Public Health (DPH).
“Children and infant deaths remain a significant and troubling issue in St. Louis County,” she said.
Between 2013 and 2022, there were 82 suspected infant deaths caused by unsafe sleep environments, according to Cunningham.
“Unsafe sleep environments for infants remain a tragic problem. These deaths are entirely preventable with safe sleep practices,” she said.
Cunningham said babies should be alone and put on their backs to sleep in a crib.
The highest mortality rates in St. Louis County are among children aged 15-17, she said, adding that racial disparities also have increased over the last 10 years.
“As of today, Black children are 4.9 times more likely to die than white children in St. Louis County,” Cunningham said. Read more.
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