By Jason Hancock | Editor-in-Chief
Good morning,
For six years, Missouri’s maternal mortality reports have delivered versions of the same devastating finding: Most pregnancy-related deaths could have been prevented.
The latest review examined deaths from 2019 through 2023 and reached that conclusion in nearly 80% of pregnancy-related cases. Every death associated with mental health conditions — including postpartum depression and substance use disorders — was deemed preventable.
Missouri has since expanded postpartum Medicaid coverage, added doula services and begun standardizing care. But the data lag means it is still too early to know whether those efforts are working. And just as the state’s response is taking shape, funding for maternal health services has been cut in half and the community organizations serving as its safety net are being stretched thinner.
Anna Spoerre examines what Missouri has built — and whether budget pressures could undermine it before the results become clear.
(Oscar Wong/Getty Images)
by Anna Spoerre
Nearly 80% of the pregnancy-related deaths reviewed were preventable as advocates worry budget woes could set back statewide efforts to keep more mothers alive.
(Cara Anthony/KFF Health News)
by Cara Anthony
The death of 44-year-old Lloyd Gilmore after he sought help from Sikeston police has renewed long-standing concerns about racial bias, accountability and deaths in custody.
(Jason Hancock/Missouri Independent)
COMMENTARY
by Jessie Sicley
We need to tell our lawmakers to ensure that our tax dollars go where they are actually needed: affordable, accessible basic human needs.
NATIONAL HEADLINES
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