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Experts say the United States is going through a maternity and child health crisis.¡°We know that every 12 hours, around the clock, a mother dies as a consequence of childbirth, and if you are a Black woman, those numbers are three-fold higher,¡± said Dr. Rahul Gupta, Chief Medical and Health Officer at the March of Dimes. ¡°If you're an American Alaskan woman, its two and a half times higher.¡±The March of Dimes is highlighting the areas of the country that are considered maternity care deserts, meaning places where there are no hospitals providing obstetric care.They say a third of counties are affected and it¡¯s not just a rural American problem. It¡¯s urban counties too.Dr. Rahul Gupta touched on some of the consequences, such as mothers dying unnecessarily, 22,000 infants dying before their first birthday, and the pre-term birth rate rising for a fifth year in a row.The numbers and problems are amplified in maternity care deserts, which have a higher poverty rate and lower household income. That¡¯s something that's escalated during the pandemic.¡°The COVID-19 pandemic has unveiled the underlying challenges as well as ugliness within our systems of care as well as communities in terms of institutional racism and bias as well as the socioeconomic conditions that lead to some of these outcomes,¡± said Gupta.A report touches on many different policy-based solutions that could improve access to maternity care, including expanding access to Medicaid for new moms from 60 days to 1 year after childbirth, allowing better access to midwives, reimbursement for doula care, and expansion of telehealth services. 1629

Experts say language barriers, living situations, and access to healthcare are among the reasons Latinas make up most COVID-19 cases among pregnant women.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention collected information from 11,000 pregnant women who tested positive for the virus. Of those women, 4,500 were Latina.Tri-State data mirrors national statistics. Dr. Amy Rule, assistant professor of clinical pediatrics at Cincinnati Children¡¯s Hospital Medical Center, said at one point, 59% of mothers who were positive for COVID-19 identified as Hispanic or Latina.¡°Latina mothers only make up about three to four percent of our moms giving birth in the Greater Cincinnati area, so the disparity is quite dramatic,¡± Rule said.Alfonso Cornejo, president of Cincinnati¡¯s Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, said the numbers are not surprising.¡°Hispanics are probably the only group growing in the state of Ohio, and our population is younger, and we have more kids per family,¡± Cornejo said.Latinas account for most of the COVID-19 cases among pregnant women for varied reasons, including occupation, Rule said.¡°Many of them are essential workers and don¡¯t always have everything they need, whether that be PPE or sick leave,¡± Rule said. ¡°They¡¯re more likely to use public transportation.¡±Cornejo said living situations could also be a contributing factor.¡°They live in apartments where they are in close contact with their older brother, the spouse, you have four people in two rooms or three rooms and that also contributes to this,¡± Cornejo said. ¡°The same thing with the African American group.¡±This week, the number of pregnant African American mothers with COVID-19 has risen to 31%, while the number of pregnant Latinas with the virus dropped from 59% to 42%, according to Rule.Although the number has lowered recently, the University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati Children¡¯s, and the Latino Health Collaborative are launching a hospital and community-based survey on the issue.¡°We want to understand more about the knowledge community members have of COVID-19 and prevention of COVID-19 and barriers they might experience in being able to practice prevention behaviors like masking or social distancing and also accessing care,¡± Rule said.WCPO's Paola Suro first reported this story. 2290

Evangelist Billy Graham -- a confidant to presidents, a guiding light to generations of American evangelicals and a globe-trotting preacher who converted millions to Christianity -- died Wednesday at the age of 99, his spokesman confirmed to CNN.RELATED: Remembering Billy Graham: A timeline of the evangelist's life and ministryRELATED: See photos from Billy Graham's sermons throughout the yearsGraham passed away at his home in Montreat, North Carolina, spokesman Jeremy Blume said.  499

FALLBROOK, Calif. (KGTV) ¡ª The ex-boyfriend of a woman found fatally shot near a Fallbrook gas station was arrested in connection with her murder Friday.San Diego Sheriff's deputies received a call of a suspicious person, believed to be 27-year-old Oscar Rodas, at Colorspot Nursery in Fallbrook just after 4 p.m.Deputies set up a perimeter and they began searching for Rodas along with a Sheriff's K9 unit. The K9 unit located Rodas and he suffered injuries to his leg during his arrest, SDSO says.RELATED:  556

Europe is proposing a ban on single-use plastic items such as cutlery, straws?and cotton buds in a bid to clean up the oceans.The European Commission wants to ban 10 items that make up 70% of all litter in EU waters and on beaches. The list also includes plastic plates and drink stirrers.The draft rules were unveiled Monday but need the approval of all EU member states and the European Parliament. It could take three or four years for the rules to come into force.The legislation is not just about banning plastic products. It also wants to make plastic producers bear the cost of waste management and cleanup efforts, and it proposes that EU states must collect 90% of single-use plastic bottles by 2025 through new recycling programs.The European Commission estimates that these rules, once fully implemented in 2030, could cost businesses over €3 billion (.5 billion) per year. But they could also save consumers about €6.5 billion (.6 billion) per year, create 30,000 jobs, and avoid €22 billion (.6 billion) in environmental damage and cleanup costs.The Rethink Plastic Alliance -- an association of environmental organizations -- called the proposals "a leap forward in tackling plastic pollution" but criticized some perceived shortcomings.The proposals do not set targets for EU countries to reduce the use of plastic cups and food containers, it said."This could result in countries claiming they are taking the necessary steps as long as any reduction is achieved, regardless of how small," the alliance said in a statement.The proposal also faced criticism from the plastics industry.Plastics Europe, which represents manufacturers, said it supported the "overarching objective" of the proposal but said there must be more resources dedicated to "waste management" to ensure better collection of used plastic."Plastic product bans are not the solution," it said in a statement, and noted that "alternative products may not be more sustainable."On a global basis, only 14% of plastic is collected for recycling. The reuse rate is terrible compared to other materials -- 58% of paper and up to 90% of iron and steel gets recycled.Research shows there will be more plastic than fish by weight in the world's oceans by 2050, which has spurred policy makers, individuals and companies into action.Last month a group of more than 40 companies including Coca-Cola, Nestle, Unilever and Procter & Gamble pledged to slash the?amount of plasticthey use and throw away in the United Kingdom.Starbucks also announced in March it was launching a  million grant challenge to solicit designs for a cup that's easier to recycle. 2689

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