infant mortality

NC congresswoman tackles maternal health disparities

May 26, 2020 by Melba Newsome

NC congresswoman tackles maternal health disparities - North Carolina Health News

Congresswoman Alma Adams has made eliminating maternal and infant mortality disparities a cause celebre in the US House of Representatives.

By Melba Newsome During a press conference on April 16, 12th district Congresswoman Alma Adams held up a picture of Kira Johnson, a woman she’d never met but whose tragic death compelled her to act. Johnson, 39, was in exceptional health and had the best prenatal care. In 2016, she had a planned Cesarean section […]

Dr. Suzanne Dixon is a woman in a black shirt that's standing in the middle of a group of providers in scrubs. She's tasked with thinking about the future of maternity units and maternity care in the mountain region.

When a rural maternity unit closes, alternatives are hard to come by

February 24, 2020 by Liora Engel-Smith

When a rural maternity unit closes, alternatives are hard to come by - North Carolina Health News

Since 2013, at least nine maternity units across the state have closed and a 10th is slated to shutter in the coming months. Addressing this growing crisis requires a systems approach, providers in western and eastern North Carolina say.

By Liora Engel-Smith The maternity unit in Macon County has been closed for almost three years, but as Jennifer Garrett sees it, nothing took its place. Garrett, clinical services administrator and director of nursing at Macon County Public Health, said having a maternal ward in town meant that pregnant women could go there right away […]

An African American mother and her baby bond together as an illustration of maternal health and maternal and child health.

Federal health officials ask how they can help NC improve maternal health. They get an earful.

January 29, 2020 by Anne Blythe

Federal health officials ask how they can help NC improve maternal health. They get an earful. - North Carolina Health News

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Medicaid, Medicare administrators came to Raleigh for guidance on North Carolina’s maternal health needs.

By Anne Blythe Health care administrators traveled from the nation’s capital to the state capital this week as part of a listening tour on how the federal government could help North Carolina address some of its thornier maternal health issues. They got plenty of feedback from the dozens of North Carolina caregivers, patients, administrators and […]

An African-American man stands on a stage where he talks about his wife's death. Maternal health was the topic of a meeting in Raleigh last week.

#ListenToBlackWomen: Maternal and infant health care advocates tell North Carolina

December 10, 2019 by Anne Blythe

#ListenToBlackWomen: Maternal and infant health care advocates tell North Carolina - North Carolina Health News

North Carolina looks for ways to close prominent racial disparity gaps in infant mortality and maternal health rates.

By Anne Blythe The harrowing anecdotes have become all too familiar. Tennis icon Serena Williams shared details of her traumatic postnatal health scare in a Vogue cover story in early 2018. Superstar Beyonce revealed particulars from her exceedingly difficult pregnancy and near-death experience during the emergency C-section birth of her twins in the same magazine […]

four girls on a swing suspended by chains, they all smile at the camera

Report shows worrisome trend of suicides among N.C. youth increasing

February 22, 2019 by Sarah Ovaska

Report shows worrisome trend of suicides among N.C. youth increasing - North Carolina Health News

An annual report card finds kids dying by suicide at twice the rate of a decade ago, making it second only to motor vehicle accidents as a leading cause of death.

By Sarah Ovaska-Few Child health experts are startled by the steady increase of adolescent suicides in North Carolina, with the state experiencing twice the rate of deaths among older children as it did a decade ago. Suicide is now the second-leading cause of death of children from age 10 to 17, topped only by motor […]

shows hog houses with pipes jutting out from underneath them. Fluid runs out of the pipes into a large holding pond.

Environmentalists: Smithfield needs to get rid of lagoons and spray fields

January 10, 2019 by Greg Barnes

Environmentalists: Smithfield needs to get rid of lagoons and spray fields - North Carolina Health News

Environmental groups say Smithfield’s plans to cover hog lagoons and add digesters don’t solve contamination and health problems caused by large-scale farms in Eastern North Carolina.

By Greg Barnes For many, Smithfield Foods’ plans to turn hog waste into renewable natural gas is a welcome sign of progress for a company that has been vilified by environmentalists almost since it opened a slaughterhouse in the small town of Tar Heel in 1992. Twenty-six years later, thousands of farmers who started raising […]

shows children looking frightened as they tumble down a slide

Advocates See Potential for Child Death Prevention in Connecting State Data

December 11, 2018 by Rose Hoban

Advocates See Potential for Child Death Prevention in Connecting State Data - North Carolina Health News

Child welfare advocates say that to improve North Carolina’s child death rate, there’s a need for better coordination and data collection on deaths that do occur.

By Rose Hoban Any time a child dies it’s a tragedy, but in 2017, 1,313 children younger than 17 in North Carolina died. For each of those tragedies, local and state health officials, medical examiners and child health experts review the circumstances around each child’s death in an attempt to learn how to prevent the […]

State Health Officials Seek Input on Early Childhood Action Plan

November 19, 2018 by Yen Duong

State Health Officials Seek Input on Early Childhood Action Plan - North Carolina Health News

The plan is aimed at producing better health and social outcomes for children in the state. DHHS is taking public input on the plan until the end of November.

By Yen Duong The Department of Health and Human Services has a vision for all North Carolina children to be on track by 2025 for healthy, stable lives. DHHS needs public input for how to get there from here. Among other goals, they want to decrease the inequity in the high infant mortality rate between […]

N.C. Officials to Set Goals to Improve Child Health Outcomes

August 31, 2018 by Taylor Knopf

N.C. Officials to Set Goals to Improve Child Health Outcomes - North Carolina Health News

Gov. Roy Cooper directed the state’s Department of Health and Human Services to write a plan to improve child health outcomes among children from birth through age 8.

By Taylor Knopf The infant mortality rate in North Carolina has remained stubbornly high in recent years and is one of the worst in the nation. About half of the children in the state live in poverty. And more than 20 percent of kids live in households that are food insecure. These are some of […]

Legislative Health Care Round Up

June 22, 2018 by Taylor Knopf

Legislative Health Care Round Up - North Carolina Health News

It's a busy time of the year at the NC General Assembly, and a lot of bills are moving fast. We'll track some of the health care bills that got attention.

By Rose Hoban & Taylor Knopf As this year’s legislative work session rapidly draws to a close, lawmakers are pushing through multiple small bills having to do with health care. Naturopathic Medicine Study A bill that passed unanimously in both chambers of the legislature directs the Department of Health and Human Services to study naturopathic […]

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