The U.S infant mortality rate has steadily declined over the past two decades. But some states are starting to see the reverse trend with the rate of Black infant deaths far outpacing that of White infants.

A new initiative aims to reduce infant deaths by connecting pregnant women and new mothers in Marion County with better housing.

Researchers conducting the "Ask the Women" study spoke to people in zip codes with high infant mortality rates in an effort to understand where they experienced gaps in care.

Indiana is worse than the national average in many key indicators of child welfare, according to a recent report from Zero To Three, a young child advocacy organization.

The program is open to anyone in the state and covers all types and brands of birth control.

Indiana's maternal mortality rate ranks near the bottom when compared to other states, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says about 60 percent of pregnancy-related deaths are preventable.

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to hit marginalized families hard, Healthy Start and similar organizations that provide maternal and infant care are seeing a spike in calls.

Despite recent improvements, minority communities across the state still remain most vulnerable.

St. Joe County say focusing on a mother's access to health care has been key to those results.

The state's infant mortality rates are the lowest theyve been since Indiana started recording the data, according to new numbers released by the Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH). This is the third year numbers have trended downward.