Bill Sets Standards to Report on Infant Deaths in Ohio

Aug. 23--Dr. Arielle Bokisa will always carry the pain of losing her unborn son, Gabriel. One day, she hopes to understand why.

"My pregnancy was very normal, routine, low risk. I received excellent pre-natal care. I had absolutely no indication that anything was wrong until I found out my son had died," said Bokisa, a pediatrician at Nationwide Children's Hospital.

Three months ago, Gabriel was stillborn at full term.

"Most people expect early pregnancy losses or a preemie, but not the death of a full-term," Bokisa said.

"As a mother, I have no idea how to prevent this in the future. There is no information to help me."

Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, announced new legislation yesterday that he hopes will help combat the state's infant-mortality crisis, the latest in a string of efforts by local, state and federal officials.

Ohio ranks worst in the nation for infant mortality among African Americans and 48th overall.

At a news conference in Columbus yesterday, Brown said his bill will standardize federal reporting requirements for infant and childhood deaths, providing more data and allowing it to be compared among states.

"In a state this wealthy, with hospital facilities as good as Franklin County and Cuyahoga County and Hamilton County and our whole state, it's shameful we don't do better," Brown said.

Bokisa said better reporting of such deaths will help.

"We need data to have a cause and a cause to have a prevention plan," she said.

Scott Widener, a Columbus firefighter and paramedic who lost his 3-month-old son, Jude, with no clear cause, said not knowing why is agonizing.

"More accurate information will be collected for research, reporting of infant deaths will be standardized, the public will receive better information on safe sleep, and better training will be available for health-care workers," Widener said.

Three years ago, he found his son in his crib not breathing.

"Not only do I carry the pain of losing my son. I was one of the paramedics trying to save his life."

Widener was giving his son cardiopulmonary resuscitation when medics, his colleagues, arrived at his home. He rode in the back of the squad and intubated his son as they raced to the hospital.

"He'd been fine," Widener said, showing a smiling picture of Jude he keeps on his phone. " This was taken just a few days before."

The statistics are grim. Each week in Franklin County, three babies die before reaching their first birthday. That's 156 babies each year, the equivalent of six kindergarten classrooms.

In June, the Greater Columbus Infant Mortality Task Force issued a list of recommendations, including getting more women health insurance, focusing on pre-natal care, helping pregnant women quit smoking and promoting safe sleeping for infants.

Also in June, Gov. John Kasich signed legislation requiring the completion of a Sudden Unexplained Infant Death Investigation reporting form to ensure data is consistently collected and reported so such deaths can be better studied.

"The tragedy is compounded because so often parents have no understanding, no explanation for why these tragedies happen," Brown said. "No parent should have to grieve the loss of a child with no answer."

@ccandisky

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