pregnancy

COMMENTARY
A pregnant couple looks at a sonogram image. (Getty Images)

A disturbing conclusion about rising maternal deaths: Most are preventable

BY: - October 7, 2023

Our society faces a number of health care challenges, but the one I find most troubling is maternal mortality — women dying as a result of child birth.     The actual numbers are quite small but the tragedy associated with them is immense.  Furthermore, these deaths provide a window into the overall functioning, or rather the […]

A pregnant mother poses with the ultrasound printout of her baby. (Getty Images)

Help for new mothers proves more popular than state can handle

BY: - July 26, 2023

A recently expanded state program that connects new mothers to a personal nurse already has a waiting list in at least one of the South Dakota counties it serves. The Department of Health’s Bright Start program grew from a handful of counties to near-statewide over the past year, thanks in part to an influx of […]

The South Dakota Department of Social Services in Pierre. (John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight)

More states, including SD, seek postpartum Medicaid coverage beyond two months

BY: - June 4, 2023

At least eight states this year — including South Dakota — have decided to seek federal approval to extend postpartum Medicaid coverage, leaving just a handful that have opted not to guarantee at least a year of health care for women during that critical period after pregnancy. The new states on the list include Montana, […]

(Getty Images)

Postpartum Medicaid expansion is the first step to maternal health equity, experts say 

BY: - March 29, 2023

Arkansas has the highest maternal mortality rate in the United States: 43.5 deaths from 2018 to 2021 for every 100,000 live births, according to the latest federal data. But the state only extends postpartum Medicaid to 60 days after childbirth.  A bill by Arkansas Rep. Aaron Pilkington, R-Knoxville, aims to change that and would seek […]

Advocates, legislators, and pregnant workers rallied in support of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act on Dec. 1, 2022 in Washington, D.C. The amendment was included in the federal spending bill signed by President Joe Biden at the end of the year. (Photo by Paul Morigi/Getty Images for A Better Balance)

Here’s what you need to know about new workplace protections for pregnant, nursing workers

BY: - January 5, 2023

The $1.7 trillion federal spending bill President Joe Biden signed last week ushers in expanded protections for workers who are pregnant or nursing. Proponents of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act and the PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act — both included as amendments to the spending bill — say the measures clarify rights for these workers, […]

A photo of Abbey Lynn Steele on display during a vigil on Dec. 6, 2022, outside the Pennington County Jail in Rapid City. (Photo by A.J. Etherington/Rapid City Journal)

‘Treated like a criminal’: Native woman’s death sparks questions

BY: - December 16, 2022

In May of 2021, Abbey Lynn Steele gave birth to her first child, a baby boy. A urine test showed methamphetamine in his system. Steele, who turned 19 that month, also tested positive for meth.  The drug’s detection in the baby’s urine assured that Steele would not keep full custody under South Dakota law. Its […]

The exterior of Monument Health in Rapid City, pictured on Dec. 16, 2022. (Seth Tupper/South Dakota Searchlight)

Advocates: South Dakota has ‘counterproductive’ approach to drug use by mothers

BY: - December 16, 2022

Abbey Steele found herself facing a felony drug ingestion charge in 2021, based on a urine test collected after she gave birth to her first child. Steele was among two dozen mothers whose maternity ward drug test sparked a call to the Rapid City Police Department in 2021.  The RCPD has collected the metric since […]