COLUMBUS, Ohio—In Ohio, black babies die before age one at a rate three times the rate of white babies. 

• 15.6 black babies die before age one per 1000 live births, compared to 5.3 white babies
• A program in Cincinnati is empowering black mothers to share their stories and improve health outcomes for black infants
• Queens Village Advisory Board members are working with the state and county to evaluate service providers and distribute funds for local programs

“That's why this mission tugs at me so much, because black women deserve to have healthy pregnancies, and they deserve to have healthy children, and they deserve for their babies to live,” said Joselyn Okorodudu, community engagement specialist, Cradle Cincinnati.

Okorodudu is a Cincinnati mother of three.

She's part of the Queens Village Advisory Board.

It's an initiative to help black mothers and babies thrive, and help make medical professionals more understanding of the needs of black mothers—something that she says she sees a need for after her last pregnancy. 

“It was really a difficult and hard pregnancy for me,” said Okorodudu. “And I often felt ignored, I often felt like people weren't listening to me when I had concerns, or they didn't even offer me solutions to the issues I was having.”

In 2018, the state announced gains in the infant mortality rates overall, but highlighted a disparity among black babies statewide.

15.6 black babies die before age one per 1000 live births, compared to 5.3 white babies.

“What is really important is that it is a race issue, it is across lines of economics, of orientation of educational attainment. Black women are losing babies at an alarming rate,” said Dr. Meredith Shockley Smith, Cradle Cincinnati Director of Community Strategies.

Metro areas, including Cincinnati, created initiatives to explore how to remove the disparity.

In Cincinnati, that initiative is called Queens Village. 

“We haven't heard black women historically, so what we are doing now is changing that narrative. We want you to hear and see us because our babies our dying and our mothers are dying at an alarming rate,” said Shockley Smith.

Dr. Meredith Shockley Smith leads community engagement for Cradle Cincinnati, and launched the Queens Village last year. 

“I need folks to engage in the fact that racism is impacting black women for certain, and we are telling you that, and we need you to hear us,” said Shockley Smith.

Its’ a collective of black women designed to empower their voices in the medical community and provide a space for them to connect and heal. 

“Three things black women mentioned… one, feeling unseen, two, feeling unheard, three, feeling undervalued,” said Shockley Smith. “So, all of the things we do get at that. Trying to create visibility, trying to get black women's voices centered, and then celebrating them when we have an opportunity. “

This meeting of the Queens Village Advisory Board connected black mothers with medical professionals, doctors and other advocates to share information and stories. 

“The idea of this meeting is to keep everybody abreast of data, and to keep people connected to Black women's voices,” said Shockley Smith. “And, so, what we did today was a story share, and the story share is to have a conversation with someone that doesn't look like you, somebody who doesn't understand your story and your perspective. And to listen intently.”

And Queens Village Advisory Board members are now helping the community at large by working with the state and Hamilton County to evaluate service providers and distribute funds for local programs. 

“Because black women will be large recipients and beneficiaries of those programs,” said Dameta Wright, Queens Village Advisory Board member and Yoga teacher. “So, it's important that black people have a seat at the table and a voice. And that is how true leadership is formulated. To make sure that the people who need the voice are heard and are a part of the conversation.”

But the main goal of Queens Village is to support black mothers, so that they can be healthy and have healthy babies. 

“We provide a space for them to just relax. We provide dinner, we provide child care. So, we provide time once a month to meet in a social setting. So, we pull all of these awesome black moms out of isolation,” said Wright. 

Wright says that a myriad of issues may make moms feel isolated – and providing that monthly respite has long-lasting impact. 

“That gives moms access to a little peace. A relaxed mom is a happy mom, a relaxed mom is a more productive mom, a more loving and nurturing mom. And that's what matters to us,” said Wright.