It’s been five years since the Indiana Department of Health began its Labor of Love summit. That effort aims at reducing the state’s infant mortality rate. But as Indiana Public Broadcasting’s Jill Sheridan reports, the state’s rate has actually risen steadily since the campaign began.

When the initiative kicked off in 2012, 556 babies lost their life – last year that number was 623. Indiana State Health Commissioner Kristina Box says any progress the state has made has been overshadowed.

“I think we’ve made some really good inroads but unfortunately we’ve added on top of that our substance use disorder and opioid epidemic,” says Box.

Last year 26 Indiana hospitals started drug testing pregnant women. Box says health providers should be verbally screening all expectant mothers.

“I’m not just talking about opioids or heroin or marijuana, I’m talking alcohol and smoking because you know we also have an issue with that in the state of Indiana,” says Box.

Box says pregnancy can be an ideal time for women to engage in treatment.

Indiana’s drug czar Jim McClelland says infant mortality is just another example of the epidemic’s impact.

“One thing leads to another and another and so that’s why it’s so important to get to root causes as much as we can,” says McClelland.

Indiana has one of the highest rates of infant mortality in the nation.