Indigenous maternal mortality rates have been rising in Kansas for at least two decades. A group of Kansas women is training to bridge modern medicine and cultural practices in birth.

Between 1999 and 2019, the increase in the number of Indigenous pregnant women dying in Kansas was among the worst in the country. That’s why a group of Kansas women is training people to help expecting Indigenous moms through pregnancy and birth. Noah Taborda of the Kansas News Service has more about the new doula program.

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Kansas City Today is hosted by Nomin Ujiyediin. It is produced by Byron Love and KCUR Studios, and edited by Gabe Rosenberg, Emily Younker and Madeline Fox.

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