Bek Shackelford-Nwanganga
Kansas has slightly improved in a national scorecard of maternal and infant health but there are still places to to better, especially when it comes to the health of women and babies of color.
Every year, the March of Dimes, a group focused on improving maternal and infant health, releases a report card for each state.
Things like preterm births, infant mortality, and adequate prenatal care improved in Kansas.
A spokesperson for the Kansas Department of Health and Environment said they’re encouraged by the improved score but still committed to improving the health of Kansas women and babies.
“While there is still work ahead, Kansas has made meaningful progress through evidence-based initiatives, strengthened clinical partnerships and improved support for families during pregnancy and postpartum,” a spokesperson told the Kansas News Service in a statement.
The agency cited initiatives like perinatal mental health and substance use services, home-visiting programs and prenatal and postnatal education through the Becoming a Mom curriculum to help improve the health of women and babies.
“In addition, Kansas is engaged in several forward- looking initiatives to address rural access, mental health and substance use enhancements, telehealth expansion, remote blood pressure monitoring, birth equity, and data infrastructure improvements,” the statement said.
Kansas scored a C- for preterm births, which is higher than the national grade, a D+. The preterm birth rate in Kansas was 10.3%, lower than 2024’s rate of 10.5%.
Kara Hamilton-McGraw is director of impact and implementation at March of Dimes. The report focuses heavily on preterm birth rates, which are babies born before 37 weeks, because a preterm birth can negatively impact the baby’s health in a lot of ways.
“Linked to higher risks of infant illnesses like RSV, longterm health problems with sight or a congenital heart defect and actually even early mortality,” she said.
Kansas also improved in other areas, like infant mortality, the rate of cesarean sections for low-risk births and infant mortality.
