Kansas ranks high among infant mortality rate in some demographics

Kansas had the highest infant mortality rate in the nation for black, non-Hispanic women in 2013, according to the latest National Vital Statistics Report on infant mortality.

The latest data in Kansas show the death rate for babies of black, non-Hispanic mothers dropped from 15.3 per 1,000 live births in 2013 to 10.3 in 2014, according to data released to The Eagle by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.

Still, the 2014 data show that black, non-Hispanic mothers have double the chance of their children dying than white mothers do.

Micah Kubic, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas, said the racial disparity of infant mortality rates is only a microcosm of the state’s larger problems.

“I think it would be a mistake for folks to focus only on the pure public health aspects of this,” he said, adding that “the only way to address this in a meaningful way is to address the whole constellation of racial inequalities in the state.”

The state implemented three programs to combat infant mortality, specifically disparities between ethnicity and socioeconomic groups. But Kubic said the root of the disparities, such as unemployment, poverty and education, need to be addressed as well.

The state Bureau of Family Health, with other partners, started the programs over the past several years to target inequities in infant mortality rates by population, such as racial and socioeconomic inequities.

“Infant mortality is extremely complex,” said Rachel Sisson, director of the Bureau of Family Health. “The state health department, our role is extremely important, but the communities have other initiatives going on, and the national level is involved, too.”

The programs are delivered on a local level, and the state provides funding. Sedgwick County now has two programs for infant mortality: Becoming a Mom and Healthy Babies.

The rate for black infant deaths reached a high of 23 per 1,000 live births in 1996. Last year, the rate dropped for the first time since 2010.

Sedgwick County’s infant mortality rate is higher than the state’s average – 7.7 deaths per 1,000 live births, compared with 6.4 in 2013.

Nationally, the infant mortality rate for babies born to black women have fallen slightly every year since 2005, according to the vital statistics report.

October is national awareness month for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. SIDS generally refers to when an infant dies while sleeping. In some cases, the deaths are preventable.

Although the causes of death are sometimes unknown, many stem from unsafe sleeping conditions: suffocation from soft bedding, blankets or pillows; wedging between bedding and a wall or furniture; suffocation from someone rolling over onto or next to the infant while sleeping; or strangulation when an infant’s head and neck become caught between crib railings.

In Kansas, SIDS is the second-most common reason for infant deaths in black and white mothers. It’s the third most common for Hispanic mothers. Thirty-seven babies died from SIDS in Kansas last year. That’s down from a five-year high of 51 in 2013.

This story was originally published October 5, 2015 at 6:06 PM with the headline "Kansas ranks high among infant mortality rate in some demographics."