The childcare gap behind Missouri’s maternal health crisis

By Jason Hancock | Editor-in-Chief

Good morning.

Public policy debates tend to separate maternal health, childcare and the safety net into different silos.

Danielle Stewart’s story shows why that can miss the point.

After a delivery-room injury she says left her paralyzed from the waist down, Stewart needed medical care. But she also needed childcare, food assistance, Medicaid and time — the basic supports that made recovery possible while she was learning how to care for a newborn and walk again.

Anna Spoerre writes about how Stewart’s experience became a case study in what happens after childbirth, when a medical crisis becomes a family, economic and policy crisis all at once.

by Anna Spoerre

Danielle Stewart says a birth injury left her paralyzed. Affordable childcare, she says, gave her daughter stability — and gave her the space to recover, return to work and advocate for others.

by Jacob Fischler and Jonathan Shorman

Democrats see a path back to the U.S. Senate, but the map is still difficult. Nine states may decide whether 2026 becomes a modest blue year or something larger.

by Janice Ellis

As we pause to celebrate America’s 250th birthday, we should take the time to evaluate her well-being. All is not well in the land of the free and the home of the brave.

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