The Bootheel of Missouri is in the epicenter of a region with the highest opioid prescription rates in America (see 2016 CDC figure below). While rates have improved recently, over 210 million prescriptions for opioids are filled in the USA annually, with 2% of Americans using opioids “regularly”. Most women in our region receive excellent …
Mother-to-Mother changes lives in the Bootheel
This month, Bootheel Babies & Families is very pleased to feature Melinda Sweeney, Executive Director of the Regional Health Foundation. Melinda has been an active part of Bootheel Babies & Families’ Community Steering Committee for years, and her organization’s Mother-to-Mother program is a current Grantee serving women and babies in Stoddard, Dunklin and Pemiscot …
Fighting Infant Mortality in Southeast Missouri
September is National Infant Mortality Awareness Month Sikeston, Mo. – Babies born in under-developed countries like Cuba, Romania, Tonga or Botswana have a better chance of surviving their first year of life than those born in Missouri’s Bootheel. That’s the basis of an ongoing outreach initiative aimed at reducing infant death in six Bootheel counties, …
How infant mortality affects you
Since 2009, 135 babies have died in six Bootheel counties in Missouri. That’s 135 children who never got to celebrate their first birthday or attend their first day of kindergarten. Hundreds of families will forever have a hole in their lives, and entire communities are affected by the impact of infant mortality – including YOU. …