In the past seven years, 119 babies died before their first birthdays in six counties in Southeast Missouri -- Scott, Mississippi, New Madrid, Stoddard, Dunklin and Pemiscot, according to statistics from the Missouri Department of Health and Human Services.

The infant mortality rate in those counties is the highest in Missouri, at 9.3 deaths per 1,000 births, and is higher than the national rate of 6.1 deaths per 1,000 per births.

Karlyle Christian-Ritter, chief of neonatology at Saint Francis Medical Center, meets the parents of many of those babies at the emergency room. They often know their child is dead, but they still scream in anger and disgust at themselves, she said.

Many of those children were killed accidentally by their parents who were sleeping with the newborn in the same bed or couch, Christian-Ritter said. According to the state HHS, 24 percent of infant deaths were sleep-related by one of the sleeping parents rolling over onto their baby and suffocating it. Another 12 percent of death were deemed to be possibly sleep-related.

"When we looked at infant mortality, we found the most common reason for death was co-sleeping," Christian-Ritter said. "People just don't know. ... Sometimes people sleep with their baby because there's no other place."

Saint Francis Medical Center, Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston and Twin Rivers Medical Center in Kennett have partnered to provide families with a safe place for their babies to sleep.

The hospitals received a $200,000 grant from the Missouri Health Foundation and are giving out 750 "boxinettes" to families in Scott, Mississippi, New Madrid, Stoddard, Dunklin and Pemiscot counties over the next six months.

The boxinette is a 3-by-1-foot box of sturdy pressed cardboard with a firm mattress on the bottom. It is similar in size to the plastic bassinets used at Saint Francis.

The boxinette weighs about two pounds, making it easy to transport, and it's a space saver. Christian-Ritter said the boxinette will give parents with bassinets or cribs an advantage of keeping their baby in a safe sleeping environment in their bedroom that may not be big enough for a traditional bassinet.

Missouri Delta maternal child director Teiffney Tyler said the boxinette is a good option when parents are traveling. She said the boxes have not been a hard sell for new parents. Missouri Delta has given four boxes so far, and Saint Francis has given parents 20 boxinettes since Jan. 1.

"I think when used properly, it will help," Tyler said of reducing infant mortality.

Boxinettes have been used in Finland since 1938 and have reduced infant mortality in that country from 65 deaths to 2 deaths per 1,000 births, which is the best infant mortality rate in the world, according to foreign news stories.

The boxes in Finland come with several clothing, toy and bathroom items worth nearly $150. The boxinettes provided by Saint Francis, Missouri Delta and Twin Rivers come with a HALO sleep sack and a pacifier.

Saint Francis, Missouri Delta and Twin Rivers will provide parents with education about proper sleep for their infants and require parents to fill surveys to see whether they used the boxinettes.

"I don't think anybody is studying it like we're going to do," Christian-Ritter said.

She hopes for success in Southeast Missouri but encourages lawmakers to promote a boxinette program throughout the state. She expects there will be a medical savings to programs such as Medicaid by keeping healthy babies alive.

bkleine@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3644

Pertinent address: 211 Saint Francis Dr., Cape Girardeau, MO