infant mortality

Mortality rates for Kansas City mothers and infants, especially in Black and brown communities, are well above the national average. So local groups are stepping outside the traditional health care system to bridge the gap. Plus: The leaders of a small southeast Kansas hospital say the only way to keep it from closing is to cut back on services.

Between 2012 and 2016, 662 babies in the Kansas City metro area died — about 11 every month. Maternal mortality rates are also higher than the national average, but some Kansas City groups are trying to improve both.

Former Kansas City, Kansas, mayor Mark Holland sees a path to victory against longtime U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran, who's running for re-election this November. Plus, Black babies in Kansas have long had a much higher chance of dying than white babies — and then the pandemic hit, and Black infant mortality surged 58%.

A 58% rise in Black infant mortality in Kansas in 2020 sent researchers and community groups searching for answers and solutions.

A recent survey shows donor milk was unavailable for infants with a very low birth weight at 13% of hospitals with neonatal intensive care units, despite strong supply.

2020 brought a sharp rise in the already-dire rate of Black infant mortality in Kansas. Black babies are now nearly three and a half times as likely to die in their first year of life as white babies.

Studies on infant mortality during the pandemic are still incomplete, but an area infant bereavement specialist says they're about the same as a typical year's losses—it's the grieving that's been more challenging.

Medical experts say social inequality and racism in medicine can be deadly for Black infants, mothers and families.

Segment 1: A young Kansas City poet reads Dear White Police Officer.Veronica Clay was one of the featured performers at the Kansas City Jazz Museum for…

When Victoria Worden of Kansas City was pregnant with her fourth child, she was addicted to heroin and hated herself for it.“When you are in withdrawal,…

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, black women are three to four times more likely than white women to die from…

Segment 1: Leaders of the Kansas and Missouri chapters of the ACLU discuss their organizations' goings-on.With a federal court ruling Kansas Secretary of…