Lifehouse Crisis Maternity Center helps combat infant mortality rates in Southeast Missouri

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. (KBSI) – Missouri continues to struggle with high infant mortality rates but initiatives across the state are working to combat the issue.

Lifehouse Crisis Maternity Center of Cape Girardeau is one of these places.

Tracey Morrow is the Program Administrator of maternal and family services for the LifeHouse crisis maternity center of Cape Girardeau. The center opened a year ago on April 29, 2024 in downtown cape and has since helped 17 women and their babies.

Morrow explains that that the crisis center works to help mothers who are facing homelessness, are in addiction recovery, or victims of domestic abuse.  

“Verbal, mental abuse, if she just doesn’t feel safe in the environment that she’s in she can come to LifeHouse. Once we verify her pregnancy she can go through our program. She can stay for her entire pregnancy and then she can stay up to a year after she has the baby” says Morrow.

According to a report by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior services on average 70 women in Missouri die while pregnant or within one year of pregnancy from 2017 to 2021.

Studies suggest this is in large part due to lack of proper prenatal care, substance abuse and mental health obstacles.

The crisis center offers personal bedrooms, a full kitchen, support classes and more for each woman who enters the program. Morrow explains how they are working to decrease infant mortality rates.

“We have safe sleep checks every night and that means that once a mom brings an infant home and their brand new they are checked on every hour to make sur that babies in a crib by themselves on their back and if they are they pass if they don’t they don’t pass that sleep check so before we leave the room we make sure the baby is in the bed by itself.”