Ohio has recorded a small decrease in the number of infants who died before their first birthday, to 982 in 2017 from 1,024 the previous year.

But there is a troubling trend: While deaths of white infants dropped by 60 last year, deaths among black infants rose by 15, according to a report released Thursday by the Ohio Department of Health.

Overall, black infants died at nearly three times the rate of white infants.

The racial gap continues to grow as Ohio spends millions to save young lives — investments now directed primarily to high-risk communities and minorities.

“The data show we are helping more babies in the state reach their first birthdays, but we still have a lot of work to do — particularly in eliminating racial disparities in birth outcomes,” said Lance Himes, director of the Health Department.

Infant mortality is defined as the death of a live-born baby before his or her first birthday. Last year, the state averaged 7.2 infant deaths for every 100,000 births, down from 7.4 in 2016.

The rate for white babies was 5.3 per 100,000 births; it was 15.6 for blacks.

Ohio’s goal is 6.0 infant deaths per 1,000 live births for all racial and ethnic groups.

Nine urban counties, including Franklin, accounted for nearly two-thirds of all infant deaths last year and 90 percent of black infants' deaths. In Franklin County, deaths of black infants actually fell to 83 in 2017 from 89 in 2016, while deaths of white infants were unchanged at 62.

Sandy Oxley, who heads the health department’s Bureau of Maternal, Child and Family Health, said the statewide increase in deaths of black infants was attributed to a larger number of neonatal deaths — those occurring in the first 27 days of life.

According to the report, deaths of black infants during the neonatal period increased by 9 percent in 2017 from the previous year, while those during the post-neonatal period of 28 to 365 days of life decreased by 7 percent.

Neonatal deaths, Oxley said, are often caused by premature births, low birth weight and serious health issues. A mother's health prior to pregnancy continues to be the leading indicator of "birth outcomes."

Given that, local groups in the nine counties began this fall using "neighborhood navigators" to identify at-risk women and connect them with health care, housing assistance and other services. Community efforts are funded with local, state and federal dollars.

"It's really all boots on the ground," Oxley said.

Erika Clark Jones, executive director of CelebrateOne, a local organization working to reduce infant mortality, said, "In Columbus, the infant mortality rate for the county and for non-Hispanic black babies are both trending down, but the disparity between non-Hispanic white and black babies remains large, with a rate approximately 2.5 times higher for non-Hispanic black babies."

Still, Jones said, there are encouraging signs. The number of sleep-related deaths is declining. In 2017, Franklin County had its fewest sleep-related deaths in 10 years. The county won’t beat that record in 2018, but the longer-term trend remains downward, she said.

Also, more families are getting help. In the three years that CelebrateOne has operated, it has trained 87 certified community-health workers who have helped connect more than 25,000 pregnant women, mothers and families to resources.

"Going forward, in Franklin County and Columbus, we will continue to focus on safe-sleep education and early access to prenatal care," Jones said.

Ohio has invested $137 million in the past eight years to reduce infant deaths.

Ohio's 982 infant deaths last year marked the second time that the annual total has been below 1,000 since the state began counting in 1939. The first time was in 2014, when 955 babies died.

ccandisky@dispatch.com

@ccandisky