Black babies in Southern states have a much higher risk of dying in their first year than white infants. The South is "where infant mortality is by far the highest in the country, with Mississippi's rate of 8.12 deaths per 1,000 live births ranking worst. . . . Nationally, the average is about 1% for Black infants and less than 0.5% for white infants," reports Lauren Sausser of KFF Health News. Even Southern states making progress still have big gaps: "In Florida and North Carolina, the Black infant mortality rate is more than twice as high."

The figures "reflect politics," Sausser writes. "They're a direct product of generational poverty and racism. . . . Often, babies die under circumstances that state, communities, and parents can help control, like making sure infants don't suffocate in beds or in unsafe cribs or extending health coverage so that young women can afford to see a doctor before they become pregnant. In many of these respects, the South is failing."

Read the full article about racial disparities in infant mortality by Heather Close at The Rural Blog.