The vast gaps between deaths of black and white babies in Southern states look like a crisis with no clear solution

Photo by E+, Getty Images, via KFF Health News

Black babies in Southern states have a much higher risk of dying in their first year than white infants. The South is "where infant mortality is by far the highest in the country, with Mississippi's rate of 8.12 deaths per 1,000 live births ranking worst. . . . Nationally, the average is about 1% for Black infants and less than 0.5% for white infants," reports Lauren Sausser of KFF Health News. Even Southern states making progress still have big gaps: "In Florida and North Carolina, the Black infant mortality rate is more than twice as high."

The figures "reflect politics," Sausser writes. "They're a direct product of generational poverty and racism. . . . Often, babies die under circumstances that state, communities, and parents can help control, like making sure infants don't suffocate in beds or in unsafe cribs or extending health coverage so that young women can afford to see a doctor before they become pregnant. In many of these respects, the South is failing."

Addressing the problem means understanding the causes, and that has been difficult. "Multimillion-dollar programs to improve South Carolina's numbers over the past decade have failed," Sausser reports. "To make things more complicated, separate state agencies have reached different conclusions about the leading cause of infant death." To address prenatal care deficits, "South Carolina and several other states recently extended postpartum Medicaid coverage for women who give birth, which means their coverage remains in place for one year after delivery. Historically, Medicaid coverage was cut off 60 days after having a baby," Sausser writes. "Even when they become pregnant and are newly eligible for Medicaid, it isn't unusual for women in South Carolina to put off seeing a doctor until the third trimester, physicians told KFF Health News. These women can't afford to take time off work, can't find child care, or don't have a car, among other reasons."