Wisconsin has the highest Black infant mortality rate in the nation, according to a 2018 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But, while severe racial disparities in infant and maternal mortality rates are pervasive in Wisconsin, they’re also present throughout the United States.
To address the nation’s ongoing maternal and infant health crisis, federal lawmakers have proposed a package of legislation dubbed the Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act.
Included in this legislation are elements introduced by U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, of Madison, and Rep. Gwen Moore, of Milwaukee.
For more on the racial disparities in Wisconsin’s maternal and infant healthcare, and to examine the proposed legislation, WORT producer Jonah Chester spoke with Dr. Tiffany Green, an assistant professor in the Department of Population Health Sciences and in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at UW-Madison.
(PHOTO: Bill Oxford / UNSPLASH)
