Public News Service
In West Virginia, babies of Black mothers are dying at higher rates in childbirth compared to white infants – and experts say the lack of access to healthcare for people of color is likely driving those numbers.
According to the most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the state’s white infant mortality rate was 6.8 deaths per 1,000 births – while the Black infant mortality rate was more than 13 deaths per 1,000 births.
The figures are from 2014 to 2017, but Health Policy Analyst with the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy Rhonda Rogombe called them “alarming.”
“All the data has shown that even when controlling for different pieces – like race, controlling for income, educational attainment, all these different factors,” said Rogombe, “Black folks are still experiencing these disparities at a much higher rate.”
Read the full article here.
