Of the 2,369 Black babies born in the state in 2020, 40 died in their first year. Now, 17 Black babies out of every thousand die before their first birthday - over three and a half times the rate of white babies. The impetus? New data revealing that Black infant mortality in Kansas surged 58% in 2020. These “Baby Talk” prenatal education classes represent a new partnership between the nurses association and the University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita’s Center for Research for Infant and Birth Survival (CRIBS).
Kansas News Service “I hope to be able to, one by one, shift (Black infant mortality) numbers for young mothers in the state of Kansas,” Jones-Foxx said. “They ask if you have any questions as they’re already walking out the door - but that’s your time to ask those questions that may be weighing on you.” “Sometimes that can be pretty intimidating because we’re all a little shy when it comes to professionals,” she told her class. After all, she said, it can make a big difference when it comes to keeping Black mothers and their children alive. She tells the women to write down any questions they might have ahead of a checkup, and insist that they get answers. Jones-Foxx, who is president of the Wichita Black Nurses Association, lingers on a slide about the importance of communicating with their doctors. So she coaches them on how to stay healthy during pregnancy: Are they taking their prenatal vitamins? Do they have strategies for managing stress? Do they know what resources exist if they need help buying healthy food? “And I have a master’s degree.”Īt the Dellrose United Methodist Church in Wichita, she teaches pregnant women, particularly Black women, about that work - with the understanding that, statistically, their babies are less likely to live to see their first birthday than white children. “It’s the hardest work I’ve ever done,” she said. WICHITA, Kansas - Peggy Jones-Foxx knows what it takes to raise a baby.
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