Black and Indigenous Kansans are more likely to die from pregnancy

Black maternal mortality in Kansas now exceeds neighboring states, new research finds, and the state saw one of the greatest increases in mortality for Indigenous mothers.
WICHITA, Kansas — Black women remain more likely to die from pregnancy than any other group in the U.S. But the problem is even worse in Kansas.

New research from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation and Mass General Brigham finds Black maternal mortality in Kansas rose sharply between 1999 and 2019 and often exceeded neighboring states.

“This is really a bright flag for policymakers to attend to a problem that should be completely preventable,” said senior author and University of Washington professor Dr. Greg Roth.