COLUMBIA − Missouri was one of four states to have a significant increase in infant mortality rate from 2021 to 2022, according to a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Infant mortality refers to the death of an infant before his or her first birthday.
Missouri had 406 deaths in 2021 and 467 deaths in 2022, for a 16% increase. Texas, Georgia and Iowa also saw increases by 8%, 13% and 30%, respectively.
The report doesn’t mention what specific causes of death are most common in Missouri, but it does note that congenital malformations (birth defects) and short gestation (pregnancy development) and low birthweight are the top two causes of death nationwide.
For any mother who is in need of support due to the loss of an infant, Infant Loss Resources (ILR), a nonprofit support group out of St. Louis, provides in-person and online services.
Online services can be obtained through grief support with ILR staff.
ILR Executive Director Vikki Collier says the nonprofit allows families to dictate how their recovery process develops.
“We let the family tell us how to support them, we have healing boxes we send, events they may come to once a year to commemorate their baby, but it’s all up to what they want to do,” Collier said.
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A support system with other families struggling with infant loss tends to be what helps families the most, according to Collier.
“Our families say to us that they get more hope and support when they’re connected with someone that also lost an infant,” Collier said. “I think a lot of families don’t feel that connection right away so some of our support is just listening.”
For families who are looking to take on preventative measures, Brighter Beginnings, a nonprofit in Boone County, partners with several home visiting providers, such as Lutheran Family and Children’s Services, to address maternal and child health disparities with families.
Brighter Beginnings has a home prioritization system, in the form of a survey, that allows families to connect with a home agency service that provides the most robust support.
“Families don’t have to have a home. We’re about coming to them and meeting them where they are at,” Kelly Scheuerman, coordinator at Brighter Beginnings, said.
Some of these home visiting partners provide a variety of services including education on parenting and child development; hearing and visiting screenings; and mental health screenings and assessments.
Brighter Beginnings only serves Boone County. There are three other access points for home-visiting partners around mid-Missouri including Generate Health, which serves Chariton, Randolph, Howard, Cooper, Callaway and Cole Counties. Family Focused Network, serves Moniteau, Morgan, Miller and Maries County. Promise 1000 which serves Osage, Montgomery and Audrain County.