Baby parade held in Bucyrus to promote healthy babies Sept. 26

Galion Inquirer
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The Crawford County Public Health Help Me Grow Division will hold a Fall Baby Parade 11 a.m. Sept. 26 at the fountain on the square in downtown Bucyrus.

The free event will include face painting, balloons and a bag to take home.

Families are invited to come and take part in the parade, which is being held as part of Infant Mortality Awareness Month.

“We are making progress, but we must do more to ensure the safety of babies in our communities,” said Crawford County Help Me Grow Contract Manager Pam Kalb.

By Deborah Elaine Evans

[email protected]

INFANT MORTALITY

The latest data released by the Ohio Department of Health reports 1,024 infants in Ohio died before their first birthday in 2013. Even though that number is an improvement compared to 1,047 deaths in 2012, Ohio still remains 23 percent higher than the national average. Locally, there were three deaths in 2013 out of 453 babies born that year in Crawford County.

Infant mortality is defined as the death of a live-born baby before his or her first birthday. The three leading causes of infant deaths in Ohio are pre-maturity/pre-term births (pre-term births are those before 37 weeks gestation) which accounts for 46.7 percent of all infant deaths, sleep-related deaths (including Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)) which accounts for 16.2 percent of infant deaths and babies born with serious birth defects which accounts for 14.5 percent of all infant deaths.

Crawford County Public Health

Reach Evans at 419-468-1117 ext. 2049 or on Twitter at @deborahevans31

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