Preventable child deaths are on the rise in Tippecanoe County, officials said Tuesday.

Thirteen deaths of children  younger than 18 were reported this year, according to statistics presented by the Tippecanoe County Local Child Fatality Review Team. Six were preventable infant deaths caused by co-sleeping, bed-sharing or other improper sleeping habits.

In 2014, seven child deaths were reported, three of which were preventable, Deputy Prosecutor Jason Bliss said.

In Indiana, 51 infants died in 2013, the most recent year for which data are available, according to a report by the Indiana State Department of Health. In 67 percent of the deaths, suffocation was a leading cause, the report states, noting that the state has the sixth highest infant mortality rate in the nation.

"Which is the reason we need to deliver a call to action," Biss said.

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