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Abortion is still legal in Kansas, with restrictions — but abortion opponents want Kansas lawmakers to enact laws to support anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers and put parents on the hook for child support starting at conception. We'll break down those and other reproductive policies working their way through the legislature this session.
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Abortion opponents want the Kansas Legislature to increase funding for anti-abortion counseling centers, begin child support at conception and ask more questions of abortion patients.
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"It’s more like gambling than it is health care," said one woman about infertility treatments, "because you’re wagering significant amounts of money... and you might come out with nothing."
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Jamaa Birth Village plans to open satellite midwifery birthing locations across Missouri next year. Patients can receive midwifery and doula care and social support services in areas with few options for maternity care.
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The number of severe complications during labor and delivery has increased for Kansas moms. For moms of color or women enrolled in Medicaid, complications are even more common. One of the state’s Medicaid contractors is now covering doula services as a way to help.
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A new study from the U.S. Department of Agriculture found that the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children was underutilized. In 2021, it served only about half the number of people that qualified.
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Infant mortality in Missouri went up 16% between 2021 and 2022, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Missouri was one of only four states that showed a significant rise.
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Maternal mortality rates in the U.S. are increasing, and Black mothers are at an even greater risk. EleVATE, a group prenatal care program at University Health in Kansas City, aims to improve the positive outcomes of at-risk individuals.
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Postpartum depression affects approximately one-in-seven women and one-in-10 men. This fall, a newly approved medication could change how patients experiencing perinatal or postpartum mood and anxiety disorder are treated.
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Between 2018 and 2020, more than 200 women in Missouri died during pregnancy or in the year after giving birth, according to a state health department report released this week. The number of deaths from suicide and firearms increased, and Black women were three times as likely to die as their white counterparts.
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In Missouri, maternal mental health conditions are the No. 1 cause of pregnancy-related deaths. According to a state-commissioned review, all mental health-related maternal deaths were deemed preventable. But Missouri's government has largely failed to respond to the crisis.
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Black maternal mortality in Kansas now exceeds neighboring states, new research finds, and the state saw one of the greatest increases in mortality for Indigenous mothers.