mortality rates

The annual child wellness report KIDS COUNT found 27% of students in Kansas and 20% of students in Missouri were chronically absent in 2021-2022. At the same time, high rates of children in both states have experience at least one traumatic event.

A recent report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture found working-age rural residents die from natural causes at a higher rate than their urban counterparts. And that gap has widened over the years.

Missouri has a maternal mortality rate of 25.2 deaths per 100,000 live births, higher than the national average. Health professionals worry that the state’s near-total abortion ban will make pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period even more dangerous.

The bills have earned support from Republicans and Democrats, as well as groups including both Pro Choice Missouri and Missouri Right to Life.

Abortion restrictions will likely affect Black women the most. Many are concerned about the impact on Black maternal mortality, and the risk of criminalization.

A multi-year report on maternal mortality in Missouri found that women on Medicaid are eight times more likely to die within one year of pregnancy than those with private health insurance. Black women were three times more likely to die than white women.