DES MOINES, Iowa — A stillbirth is defined as loss of a baby at 20 weeks or greater, and Iowa loses anywhere from 150 to 175 babies each year due to stillbirths.
Black expecting parents are three times more likely to endure the tragedy of a stillbirth compared to white expecting parents, according to maternal health organization Count the Kicks.
Those startling statistics are what two organizations, Count the Kicks and MercyOne, hope to improve with their partnership, said Jacquie Easley, the director of MercyOne's Diversity Equity and Inclusion division.
"We were very alarmed when we saw that the stillbirths rate for Black women in Iowa was about three times more than any other race or ethnicity in the state," Easley said.
Easley shared how her team is efforting research and sharing resources to help support Black mothers
"Rather than, you know, attend webinars, and hear more research on the impact this is having on our community, we decided to be proactive," Easley said.
Count the Kicks' Health Equity Director Jodi Long shared why the organization focuses specifically on preventable stillbirths.
"When we're talking about health care and birth outcomes, we're finding that women of color aren't often listened to in places of where they receive their care," Long said. "And so that's our job — to make sure that those who are working with patients of color in the healthcare system, [to] make sure that they are listening to their patients."
Long also noted how data shows Black women have access to fewer resources than white women when it comes to maternal health.
"We have found that people of color are using the emergency room in the emergency department as a source of primary care 30 to 40% more than white women," Long said. "So, through that research, we're connecting the dots that the reason why that's happening is because of lack of access to care."
With MercyOne's help, Count the Kicks is piloting a program that will look at existing barriers in Iowa and then create a patient connection protocol within the hospital.
The protocol will then help connect patients to a primary care provider, an obstetrician or a midwife to make sure they're getting the care they need.
"The reason why this is so important is the fact that we're catching these expectant parents, these pregnant people, at a time when it's not too late," Long said.
Jodi long said data shows Iowa's stillbirth rate decreased by 32% during the first 10 years of the Count the Kicks campaign.