A striking gap between deaths of Black and White babies plagues the South

[Nevilledog]

https://www.postandcourier.com/health/a-striking-gap-between-deaths-of-black-and-white-babies-plagues-the-south/article_c8617382-f4d8-11ed-98d4-97fe3a9aeb1c.html

BAMBERG — Years before the Bamberg County Hospital closed in 2012, and the next-closest hospital in neighboring Barnwell shut its doors in 2016, those facilities had stopped delivering babies.

These days, there’s not even an ultrasound machine in this rural county 60 miles south of Columbia, much less an obstetrician. Pregnant women here are left with few options for care.

Federally qualified health centers offer prenatal services in nearby Fairfax and Barnwell, but only when a pregnancy is uncomplicated and only through about 34 weeks of gestation.

During the final weeks of pregnancy, women must transfer their care to the nearest obstetrician, often in Orangeburg, which can be 20 miles away or more, depending on where they live in Bamberg County. Some women travel farther to hospitals in Aiken or Beaufort, where health outcomes are better.

“Most of our women are driving an hour or more from their homes to an OB provider,” said Tracy Golden, a doula and senior program manager for the South Carolina Office of Rural Health.

*snip*

[Ace Rothstein]

1. Some of the numbers from the article are crazy but this one especially.

"In 2021, nearly 3 percent of all Black infants in Orangeburg County died before their 1st birthday."

[Docjohnson]

2. Guess

If the racist south can't lynch adults, they'll just go after black babies. Sickening