The Dayton Daily News Path Forward project investigates the most pressing issues facing our community, including race and equity. A recent investigation dug into what can be done to stop the alarming loss of Black babies. Numerous national studies show that after controlling for education and socioeconomic status, Black women remain at high risk for maternal and infant mortality.
As part of the project, Beasley and Alston shared their stories.
In 2009, Beasley went into labor 24 weeks into her pregnancy and gave birth to Keasha — a beautiful but frail girl weighing 1.5 pounds. Eleven months later, after Keasha’s breathing tube accidentally came out and the young mom tried frantically but couldn’t get the tube back in, she made the difficult decision to take Keasha off life support and the baby died in her mother’s arms.
In 2016, Alston gave birth to her fourth child, a healthy girl named Shiloh. She was happy and healthy. Until one morning, when Shiloh was 3 weeks old, her parents woke up and found her in her crib not breathing.
For reasons that are not well understood, Black and other nonwhite babies are more likely to die from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, as Shiloh did.
Dayton Daily News investigates
Recent Dayton Daily News investigations looked into the motalty rate of Black babies in the area, the impact of grief from the COVID-19 pandemic, the drawing of new political maps and more.
» Black babies dying at alarming rate: How can their lives be saved?
» Two new initiatives in Dayton region aim to save babies’ lives
» A year into COVID, the Dayton region is grieving; ‘We will heal, and we can heal’
» Ohio to draw new political maps -- and it’s the most important decision in the next 10 years
» Traffic increased on I-75 for 6 years. Then the pandemic hit
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