A new study shows black infants in Cook County are 12 times more likely to die in their sleep than white infants.

The report released Monday by Children’s Memorial Research Center also shows black babies outside of Cook County are twice as likely to die from sleep-related causes.

Jenifer Cartland is the doctor who conducted the study.

CARTLAND: It’s pretty clear that these families tend to be pretty low-income, and that there’s often evidence that they don’t really have safe sleep places available to these children

Cartland says many of the children died while sleeping with their parents, or by accidental suffocation. She says infants should always sleep on their back in an safety-approved crib.

About 90 infants die in their sleep each year in Cook County.